The Legend of Fauna

        “My, my, A thousand years can give you such a crick in the neck...” The pink headed man said as he rubbed at his neck.

        “You were summoned literally minutes ago. If anything, the reason you happen to have a sore neck because of all that gravity abuse you do. Just because you can does not mean you should.” The knight said to his brother.

        “I still do not know how he does that so easily either. It took me years to figure out how to do it, and he's been able to ever since we were trapped.” The sorcerer agreed.

        “Well, Andy, hear me out here bro; maybe you really don't actually have any talent. It could be that ya know.” The Valkyrie said as she playfully shook the sorcerer's shoulder.

        “Oh, stop that. If I did not have any talent, there would have been a number of times we should have died.” The sorcerer replied, removing the valkyrie's hand in the process.

        “Of course. Zere is also ze fact zat 'e destroyed my city on a bloody rampage more zan once. But no, I am not bitter.” The Mage knight said. The sorcerer was immediately looking far and away from the other Harmonian Mage, who was still staring daggers at him.

        “Well... to his credit, you did have a habit of trying to make everything out of glass...” The heavily armored Angel said.

        The Harmonians continued to argue with one another until finally, someone decided to interrupt.

        “Look, y'all clearly have some kinda brother-sister bondin' to catch up on, but really, is now the time?” The Terran who shared Applejack's mark silenced the group.

        “She's right. We aren't just here to talk. I apologize for my siblings, milady.” The knight said. It was relatively clear who was the 'leader' of the six here, as all the others stopped talking and stood at attention.

        “Well, I was gonna let you go on for a while, but I guess we have more time than is really necessary here. If you would, Andromeda.” The male Angel said. The sorcerer nodded, and then began to raise his blue and red staff. The crystal connected with the table and light blue waves of magic shot out in every direction. From the origin point, the world started to lose color, save for the people inside. The candles that lit the room halted movement, exposing every single point of flame to be seen. Pinkie immediately noticed this, and started making little fires in the shape of a smiley face in the air. They froze as soon as she let go of them. She giggled and clapped after each one.

        “Stop that. This is serious.” Said the indigo headed Mage. The girl rolled her eyes, then very quickly drew a circle of flame around it to finish her frozen flame face.

        “That brings me to our first agenda. Why can she do that?” Said Zephraim with a concerned look on his face.

        “Ah, yes, the powers. You see, it isn't just my incarnate, but Andromeda and Monarcha's as well. You there... the yellow Angel. You can summon water can't you?” The conductor said.

        “Um... yes?” The girl said sheepishly.

        “That's about a confident as Monarcha ever is, So I guess I'll take it. So? Who wants to explain that to them? Three of you have yet to even pass your powers on.” The Mage Knight stepped off the table, then in front of Rarity.

        “Very well. A visual demonstration should do. 'Owever, if you two decide to try and do somezing I am sure you will break zis little tree. Your 'and my liege.” The tailor wasn't sure what to do, but a nod from the Harmonian made her feel more comfortable. She took hold of the Mage knight's hand, and suddenly she had an overwhelming headache.

        “Oh dear gods, what is this feeling?” She said as she tried to regain her vision. But once she did, she stopped herself from moving completely. “Alright. I must admit, the color going away was unusual, but this is even more strange.” The girl said as she stood and stared at everyone.

        “You wanna share with the class, curly?” The rainbow headed Angel said.

        “How is it possible for every word out of your mouth to be offensive? Oh, whatever. If you must know, the room isn't black and white anymore, but I can still tell that it's frozen. But what's most odd is you. You all have... these colors about you.” She moved around the table and then stared at every one, one at a time, very carefully. Before she got up, she was sitting next to Rainbow and Fluttershy, so she decided to start with Fluttershy.

        “A bright blue... white... lilac... yellow... a silvery blue... and the character for water? No wait... this is a rune... Ah. That explains that.” The Angel sat in silence after hearing all of those colors. The tailor then moved to rainbow.

        “An oddly profound cyan, almost green-blue I would say. A faint hint of pink, and a rather pale one at that... and magenta. Hmm... you don't seem to have as many colors as she does, or a rune.” Rainbow looked shocked. She didn't say anything though. Next up was Twilight.

        “Violet. Very, very deep violet. A very dark blue, a much brighter violet... the same yellow that Fluttershy had... odd. That blue is here too... A light silvery blue, and the rune for Dark.” She started to move away, but then turned back to Twilight. “Hold on a moment... you have... something else in there too...” The tailor reached out to touch the other Mage's shoulder, and noticed that her hand was letting of a white-gray smoke.

        “That's odd. My magic is normally just a pure blue.” She continued forward, and once she made contact, she started seeing visions. They came so rapidly and quickly that she couldn't process what was happening. The Mage knight quickly removed the tailor's hand. The girl shook her violet curls and rubbed at her fore head.

        “What in the world was that?” The Mage knight helped her back to her feet.

        “Somezing zat is a little bit more advanced zan you are able to 'andle right now. Clairvoyance is the most prominent powers you 'ave, but we can work on zat later. Keep going... zis is more important zan you know.” The tailor looked into the eyes of her incarnation, then turned away and ran her hands through her hair. The next person was Pinkie.

        “Goodness, blindingly bright pink. Light gray, Dark gray. Burning bright red... oh wait a minute, that yellow is here again... rather faint though. I think Fluttershy had the brightest of it so far. And finally the rune for fire. I'm beginning to see a trend here...” She then moved to Applejack. “Orange. Possibly even burnt orange. A much lighter orange, almost golden, like honey... A... carmine red? No, darker than that... more like an apple... hmm... you don't have anything else... wait a minute, what's wrong?” The Terran's eyes were beginning to tear.

        “Y'all just keep doin' yer thing. Ah just... Ah think Ah know what exactly yer seeing'.” The tailor looked concerned, but continued anyways. The Dragon's turn. He looked... happy to see her.

        “Hmm... a darker green than rainbow's, and then there's a very saturated violet here... but I don't think I see another one... oh wait, there it is. It's faint, but it's... almost a clear color... a jade green.” She then stood and tilted her head looking at the dragon boy. “This other green though... It's far different than any of the other things I've come across. It moves around, almost like it's alive in there...” She then saw something that she caught out of the corner of her eye.

        “Well, hold on now... you're different than everybody else...” She moved over to Zephraim and studied his face closely.

        “A... blood red, but, with mixes of bright green in it. It burns like a fire, but almost reminds me of fighting... another blood red, however, this one has a black in it... but, that's not what makes you as different. You don't have another color, but you do have a rune. But, not one that I recognize either. It's written in that same yellow I found on the girls... and then, there's a hint of that silvery blue here, but the other strange thing is that you also have that same oddity that Twilight had. Maybe if I...” She reached out to touch the man, but the Mage Knight quickly intercepted her.

        “Uh... Zat is not a good idea. As much as I hate to say zis, zere are a few powers fighting for control in zis one, but 'is blood balances itself out... some 'ow. Ze blood red you see? It is corrosive. Not 'ealthy for one using 'er soul arts.” The Man laid back in his chair.

        “Good chances are what you saw was the rune for Divinity. The red would be the blood of my father, which is also known as the demon's curse. My dad and the four of us have it. This goes for all of you when I say; if you're using soul art, don't touch me, him, or any of my siblings for that matter. The curse spreads, and it takes a lot to get it out. I am indeed the product of my parents.” The Mage knight led Rarity back to her seat, then took the center of the table.

        “Now zen... What you all 'ave just witnessed was just one of ze powers of Hikaritz, or ze goddess of Light. She cannot see 'er self right now, but she carries her personal blue, her father's ocean green and 'er mother's pale violet. Along with zat is now my deep blue, and ze character for light, or ze brand of Hikaritz. Ze soul arts were somezing zat Umbra brought with her, but were later given to ze six of us via ze gods.” She then pointed to Zephraim.

        “Ze reason zis boy 'ad such a strange mixture in 'im is because 'e ze son of a daughter of Divinity, ze 'igh god, and ze son of a direct descendant of Umbra 'erself. In a sense, 'e is ze grand son of both the 'igh god and the one trying to slay ze 'igh god. Very adept in ze soul arts, much like 'is siblings. As for ze rest of you, ze trois who carried ze yellow 'ave been in contact with Celestia. Zose who are close to a daughter tend to take on a little of zeir characteristics wiz zem. As you may guess, ze silvery blue is of ze ozer daughter.

        Now, once touched wiz ze brand, one gains ze powers of said brand. Rarity can now see ze souls of ozers, and ze souls of who zey carry wiz zem. Along wiz zis, she 'as ze power to manipulate and condense light. Wiz a little training, she could become as fearsome a knight as I once was, but zat is nizer 'ere or zere. Ze brand is passed on by touch, and once one accepts ze brand, you begin to slowly take on ze god or goddess' powers. Of course, zis comes along wiz ze last person's soul to 'ave zem as well. Zis is why you see ze fourz color in Andromeda, Monarcha, and Optimism's incarnates.” The Valkyrie and the Knight stepped down to their respective incarnates and held out their hands.

        “Take my hand milady. The god of earth, Chiaz, has chosen you as my successor.” The valkyrie followed the Knight's lead.

        “Ya always knew ya were special my girl, but ya could never of known just how special you really are. Take what's yours.” The two girls took the Harmonians hands, and both were assaulted with violent headaches.

        “Damn, that hurts!” The rainbow headed girl said as she let go. The Terran was different however. She tightened her grip. Wincing in pain every few seconds.

        “Lady Apple, that's enough. You'll hurt yourself if you keep going.” The girl shook her head and rose to her feet.

        “No! If Ah let go, then Ah won't have enough! Ah'll protect everyone!” She tightened her grip again, gritting her teeth harder as the pain intensified. The Knight sighed. He over powered her, then threw the girl back into her chair.

        “Stubborn girl.” He leaned in and stared her down. “You may be my master, but I will not let you do something so arrogant and foolish as to hurt yourself in the process. Do you understand me?” The Terran straightened her hat, then returned the death stare back to the Knight.

        “...Fine...” The girl turned away from him. He stood up, looking relatively happy with that.

        “Pick your wars wisely, children. You don't fight battles you can't win.” The two Harmonians took their places on the table.

        “Okay, I guess that takes care of that. Next to talk about... Ah yes, the mission.” The man took a spot in between Ephraim and Andromeda on the table to address the girls. “As you all know, you have all been selected by Celestia to solve the case of the string of murders here. This place is a surrogate to the red forest of the Everfree, and is just a well of magic. More specifically, the dark side of soul arts and regular magic. Which Stripes here just so happens to be the inheritor of.” The girl rolled her eyes at him. He sneered.

        “Ah, you'll get used to it. Anyways, as Rainbow probably knows, there have been murders in this town once a week for the past four weeks every Monday. If you haven't already caught on to where I'm going with this, there will likely be another one tonight. But unfortunately, it's not our job to stop it.” The pale yellow Angel twisted her face at him.

        “Excuse me? Not our job? Then what the hell does mother expect us to do? Sit here and let someone die even though we know we can prevent it?” He narrowed his eyes at her.

        “You need to cool you jets. It's not our job. It's Eclipse's job. He is already here and in position to take care of anything that happens. You know damn well that she wouldn't just ignore this, so don't you go around questioning orders. My sister or no, you do not talk about our mother like that.” She looked down in her lap.

        “I'm sorry...” He seemed satisfied with that.

        “You should be. Anyways, our job is to train for the up coming week when the card carrier is supposed to be here. Based on what we know from the intel Cobalt has has gathered over the past month, they've completed the magic circle and are in position to activate it as soon as all the rites are prepared, or blood sacrifices.” Several of the girls reeled back at that.

        “B-blood s-sacrifices? Good gods, why in the world-?” The man cut her off.

        “To revive Umbra.” The room fell silent. “The so called 'card carrier' is a woman named Chrysalis. She was once the leader of a rebellion in crater against the cyberization movement 36 years ago. To say the least, it didn't go well for her. She was caught and locked away for a good amount of time. However, Shape-shifters aren't ones to age quickly, and they die about half the rate that humans do. All the same, they have a recessive gene pool, so unless they 'keep it clean', their little set of people won't last another few centuries.

        With cyberization beginning to become a problem for them, it's starting to take it's toll. Backed into a corner, Chrysalis took what she saw as an opportunity to get revenge for her people by taking Umbra, but... this ended up being more or less a reverse when it comes to who is in control of who. Now, Umbra is running free in this shapeshifter woman's body, and she could look like anyone.” The Rainbow headed Angel interjected.

        “So... what are we supposed to do? I's not like any of us know what she would look like now. And I'm pretty sure Applejack is the only one who knows the town's folk well enough to even start looking for an imposter. We're at a disadvantage already, and we haven't even started yet. I don't know about you guys, but this is beginning to look like a bad situation to me.” The pink haired Angel followed up.

        “Was it ever a good situation? Rainbow, people are being murdered. People who more than likely don't have a the ability to fight back. I started looking into this when I heard about the first one a month ago. At first, I thought it was just a random case of old age, but no, it wasn't. They killed an eight year old. Just for some... evil tyrant! And that wasn't the only one either! An old man on his way out, a young woman with her career ahead of her, and then finally... a little girl...” She was shaking. Once again, the room turned deathly silent.

        “It's sad, I get that. But the fact is, if you don't stop her, this will only be the beginning. To perform the ritual, Umbra needs to be in the center of the city after the final sacrifice is made. From what mom and Luna tell me, Umbra is pretty full of herself, and she would likely want to commit the last piece of the ritual herself. If the ritual is completed and Umbra roams free, It's over.

        The elements are the only thing that can put a stop to her, and my parents will be in an endless war with her for the rest of eternity until another set of Daughters rises up that can use the elements. But this can be stopped. You six, have the power to do it. As long as one, or all of you can defeat Umbra, she will be sealed back inside her card, and with any luck, her host might even still be alive.” The group was still for a moment. It came to Pinkie to ask the question.

        “A'ight. Sounds like ya got a plan and all, but... Riddle me this batman; who is the next target gonna be?” The rest of the girls let out a breath in relief. None of them wanted to ask that question in fear of it being them.

        “That's up to what happens tonight. I doubt they don't have a back up plan just in case one of the local police managed to catch them in the act. The police disks can remotely turn off or short circuit disks to prevent the use of matterwaves in illicit behavior. But on the flip side, they only have about three people on the force here, one of them being Rainbow's dad. So, in the event they do send out two men with the objective of getting at least one of the sacrifices, there's a higher chance that one will escape. As for the target, they still need the blood of an Angel and the blood of a Mage.” The tailor and the blue Angel shivered.

        “But, this can also be used to our advantage. Fluttershy and I just so happened to be trained to deal with assassins, so if worse comes to worse, and they still need an Angel after today, then we'll just have to act as bait. On the other side of that coin, we'll have to use either of you two to try and draw Umbra out.” He said as he pointed to the two Mages.

        “Why do you assume that this will even come to pass? Isn't there somebody out there that's going to stop this?” The indigo headed girl said. The man frowned.

        “Unfortunately, This is not the first case of black magic we've had to deal with, nor is the first time Celestia has had to deal with Umbra. She is very intelligent. And she knows black magic better than anyone on this earth, save for Andromeda here.” The sorcerer stepped up.

        “Which is why I know that a sacrifice will happen tonight, regardless of whether a crime is committed. Dark magic has a work around for failures. If one of Umbra's servants happen to fail, then they will become the sacrifice. Preventing Umbra from killing remotely will be nigh impossible, unless we knew where she was, or from which direction she was going to cast. Even then, she could be inside of the town watching as this all goes down. It is a sad truth, but regardless of whose side they are on, some one is going to die tonight.” Once again, the room fell silent in the black and white sphere of frozen time.

        “Now that you know what's going on, and you all have your powers, we have to prepare for next Monday. It's strange for me to say this to a bunch of teenagers rather than the A.O.D., but the fact is this; your life depends on you stopping her, and the world depends on you stopping her. Tonight, you will all go home with your incarnate behind you. Because of the number of people used to summon them, they've got enough energy to retain human form until morning.

        As far as we know, the ritual has to be done on one of the six streets, otherwise there would have likely been cases of breaking and entering popping up here and there. When Andromeda releases this field, I want you all to go straight home and rest. Meet me back here in the morning, and be ready to train. You'll be working with Eclipse, and he's even more of a hard ass than I am. Get some sleep. You're gonna need it. Andromeda?” The sorcerer began to raise his staff.

        “Return to where you were when the spell was cast. If you are not in the same place when the spell is nullified... well, you may just wish you had been.” The man jumped down off the table and returned to his seat. The sorcerer then brought his staff down. As soon as it touched the table, the sound of strong wind started to swirl around the tree. The colors started to all melt together, creating a disorienting display that could have been used to describe what a hard trip feels like. Color started to sort itself out, and the room returned to normal. Pinkie's smile of fire quickly petered out of existence, and the candles all flickered in place. The wind outside had picked up tremendously, and was sounding off an echoing howl.

        “So, what was the point of that if all you were gonna do is talk?” The dragon boy finally said what was on most of the girl's minds.

        “First of all, that was a pocket dimension. You might remember this happening earlier today with Master Zephraim's younger brother?” The boy scratched his head, then snapped his fingers.

        “Oh, right, Twilight's crush.” The boy was quickly swatted across the head by his sister.

        “The point is, we stopped time, or separated from reality or whatever, and kept the ears meant to hear what was said alone.” The girl was blushing. The man removed all the cards from his disk, and to the surprise of some, the Harmonians retained their form. He returned the cards to their respective owners, and started getting contact information from everyone.

        “And with that, we're all interconnected.” Outside, the sound of thunder boomed through the library. Suddenly, Twilight and Rainbow were under the table, fearfully looking up.

        “Uh... I guess... does anyone need to be taken home?” The other girls started to leave one by one.

        “Naw, Ah'm okay. Ah'll be here tomorrow. Ah'll send ya a text when Ah get up, okay?” The knight followed the blonde as she exited.

        “Until the morrow. Goodnight, Lords, Ladies, and my siblings.” He bowed, and shut the door behind them. The next to exit was Rarity.

        “I have to go take inventory. I don't exactly know If Cobalt reopened or what happened since I left today. I will be sure to be here tomorrow relatively early though. I'll follow suit and tell you when I wake up in the morning. Goodnight everybody.” The Mage knight followed close behind.

        “Fare ze well comrades, Bon soire.” Pinkie and Optimism had vanished from existence immediately following a look between the two. In their place was a note made of flame.

        “To put this simply, we kinda got bored and went back to Sugar Cube Corner. But don't worry. I'll be back. -Pinkimena Diane Pie” There was also a drawing of a rather chiseled man wearing sunglasses with a bright dot coming out of the middle of his left eye.

        Next to that was, “Ta ta, Zephraim. You've yet to see the last of me... hehehahaha...” Ominous, as Optimism loved to be. All that remained were the two Angel girls, and Twilight.

        “Would you mind seeing her home?” The man said. The girl nodded.

        “I actually think I remember this. Back when we were in grade school together, a storm was miscalculated once, and ended up going right over Cloudsdale. It knocked out power to the school, and Rainbow was under a desk the whole time until finally her dad came to pick her up. But I think once she gets back, she'll be fine. She has Valkyriana with her anyways...” The girl almost wanted to retract her statement when she noticed two heads of rainbow under the table.

        “Oh, for the love of! You are 4000 years old! It is just lightning!” The sorcerer yelled at his sister.

        “S-shut up! You don't know what it's like when that shit hits you! I got a sword and a shield on my back man! I'm a walkin' lightning rod here!” The sorcerer rolled his eyes.

        “You are pathetic. And what's your excuse Master Sparkle? Why are you hiding from lightning in a magically sound place?” The girl shook her head and refused to say anything. She curled up tighter and covered her ears with her hands. She was terrified.

        “That's kinda my fault... uh... when I was a lot younger, A pretty bad storm hit Canterlot, a little after the accident. I was playing up on the roof of our complex with some other kids and Twilight came to bring me inside. I didn't really cooperate and the storm had already moved in. She wasn't strong enough to force me to get inside, and then the lightning started to get violent. The other kids ran back inside, but I still didn't want to leave. What ended up happening was that we were hit, but she protected me with her body... Mom got concerned, and when she found us, Twilight had a big nasty burn-scar on her back. This has happened ever since...” The sorcerer remained silent. The valkyrie then cradled the girl.

        “Hey, there, it's alright. Look at me Stripes.” The girl looked up at the valkyrie's face. There was a scar that ran down the middle of her left eye to the bottom of her face. “It's nasty stuff, but it doesn't hurt after the first few times. He might be a lummox, but that dip with the staff really cares about you. He wouldn't let you get hurt by something simple like lightning.” The woman got up from under the table, and dragged Rainbow with her.

        “G-geez, lay off. I-I can... deal...” The blue clad girl said, still clearly startled by the weather.

        “Alright, my work here is done. I'll be taking this one with me. It'd be pretty weird if the cloud house over there wasn't hers, so I assume I know where she lives. Come on Marcha. Let's get outta here.” The armor clad woman simply waved to Zephraim and Andromeda as she followed Valkyriana and Rainbow out the door.

        “I guess we're leaving now? I'll see you in the morning. And please sleep in clothes while you're with her, okay?” The man nodded.

        “I might consider it. See you tomorrow.” The girl shut the door. The man then decided it was time to pull Twilight out from under the table. Without much effort, he grabbed the girl and tossed her around until she was in his arms bridal style.

        “You're fine. It's time to get settled in.” Another round of thunder, and the girl curled up tighter and clung to the man. For such a tough girl act, she really loses her crap when it comes to this thunder. I... almost feel bad for her, ya know? The sorcerer grabbed the girl's bag that had been so highly sought after earlier, now completely forgotten. He and the dragon boy made their way toward the stairs.

Irrational fear is hard to get over. It doesn't help that she has been through more than a few traumatic events in her life either. Again, a bolt struck relatively near the library, and the night sky was lit up in the few windows of the upper floor.

Oh, great, she passed out. Well that's just dandy.

The four of them had reached the upper floor of the library. It was almost like one room, save for a few separating curtains over one bed and another. There was a window in the front and the back of the room, and from it they could see the very heavy rain that was beginning to pour from the night sky. There was another door to the right just above the stairs at the back of the room which looked like it held a bath, a sink, and a toilet. To the right of that was an area that had a stove and some cooking utensils, but nothing close to modern equipment. The sorcerer cast something on the room, and then the sound from outside was nullified.

        “That should keep it quiet. I am going to go back down stairs to start reading through this library. I saw a few texts that looked quite a bit older than some of the things I have seen in Celestia's library. Are you going to be alright?” The man nodded.

        “Yeah. Even though I slept for several hours, trying to keep control on the demon took a lot out of me. Summoning you guys didn't help either.” The sorcerer nodded.

        “Very well then. I will see you in the morning.” The sorcerer turned and headed back down stairs.

        “You can have the other bed Spike. I'll take the couch.” The dragon boy slogged to the bed, dropped his back pack, and passed out as soon as he hit the comforter. “He must have been tired too. He's only ten after all. I guess all that's left is me.” He set the girl down on the other bed, then turned to walk away. However, he didn't make it very far before he felt a pull on his hand.

        “Please, don't leave me...” Said the indigo headed Mage, still very asleep. The man scratched at his head with his free hand.

        “So this is what the other side is like. I guess I don't have much of a choice now do I?” He took a spot on the side of the bed, and rested his head on it's edge. The girl's hand never lost any grip.

        “Pretty weak physically, but that grip is killer.” The man sat in silence as he listened to the girls ever softening breathing. She never did let go of his hand.

        “I guess I'm stuck here. I wonder what she meant when she said I had the same oddity that Twilight did... I know what she's supposed to become, but... what does that mean for me?” As the monochrome Angel thought on this, the room's light began to dim.

        “What the?” He started to look around, and realized that it wasn't the room that was dimming, but his vision. He looked to his left and realized that the girl's hand was producing a violet mist.

        “Oh gods help us. Andromeda! Where are you!?” He moved his mouth, but couldn't hear his own voice. Soon enough, Zephraim had fallen asleep himself.

        The night air was thick with rain. Eclipse was sitting underneath an umbrella on top of the spire of the Pony Ville town hall. The sky was surprisingly well illuminated, even though it was the dead of night, and storming. It was almost like the desert was so thirsty, that when it finally found a lake, it drank the whole damn thing.

        The man scratched at his violet blue stubble. He was always jealous of his older brother, who, unlike him, could actually grow something semi decent on his face. Every time he ever tried to grow a beard or a mustache, it just came in in patches everywhere, and nowhere he wanted. Even his two years younger cousin had a better beard than he'd ever managed. Then again, the punk needed something to make himself at least appear like an adult. It would be great to see him again.

        After all the time in Crater looking for clues as to the whereabouts of the card carrier, something had finally turned up, and he was that much closer to being able to take time off to relax. The rain was coming down harder. The street lamps that dotted the little town were flickering with their pale blue light. He shook the disk on his arm to check the time. 12:01. It was about time for something to happen. Given the pattern and the strict rules of rituals, if they were late, they'd have to start all over. Umbra would slaughter a village before she was late to her own ritual.

        A sharp pain ran through his head. He could still hear her voice. If his cousins all bore the curse of their father, then he and his brothers carried the curse of his mother. By tainted blood, they were connected. Mom, Jupiter, Nebula, me, and her. Ever since she was taken from the castle, the four of them could hear her whispers when they dreamed. Sometimes, the vile woman would invade their dreams and give them nightmares that caused bodily harm. Every now and again, the three of them would wake up with new scars, completely alone and after witnessing a battle between their mother, and her shadow. The nightmares would end if his mission was successful. They would finally end...

        A crackling sound started to come from his disk and break his train of thought. “Sir? Mr. Eclipse are you there?” The man shook his head. Now wasn't the time to be dwelling on the past.

        “Yeah, I'm here. What's your report eye in the sky?” The Vampire Mage said. A short silence, then more static.

        “I see them. There's two like you predicted. Badge and Crosshair have taken note of each. What do you want us to do?” The man thought for a moment.

        “I want you to stay put unless I say otherwise. Badge, Crosshair, report.” The other two men were each stationed at the edges of the north and the north west roads of town at the edges.

        “This is Crosshair. I have visual of target A. He appears to be an Angel of about eighteen. He's wearing a dark cloak, and his face is obscured. He's just standing there.” The other man reported next.

        “This is Badge. My target appears to have a rather petite form, no wings though. If I had to guess I'd say this character was around fourteen or fifteen. Gender is unknown. What should we do?” Eclipse thought for a moment.

        “I want Badge to go meet up with Crosshair and engage target A. if the worst does come to pass, I want that Angel alive more than I do the Mage. The less trouble we can get, the better. Make sure you do something to let him think you're a Mage. If he finds out you're a Terran, there's a chance he might turn tail and run. I will engage target B alone.

        Fume, if the event comes to pass that you see Crosshair struggling, I want you to end the duel and have you and badge put a protective circle around the target. Otherwise, keep hidden. As soon as you see the duel start to end, you put that circle down as fast as you can. I expect the highest speed you can offer me, Mr. X wonder bolt.” The two officers on the ground said “Roger” in unison. After several moments silence, so did the Angel.

        “Hey, Fume, what's this 'X wonder bolt' nonsense he's going on about? You never told us you were a performer.” The Angel remained silent.

        “Oh ho ho, I remember now! You were that new hotshot kid they brought on, only to end up causing a disaster in your first show! What was that, sixteen years ago?” The comm only gave static.

        “Shut up. You're in the middle of a mission. If they find out you're there, you could blow the whole damn thing! Engage your target!” The man jumped off his spire, creating platforms of magic as he ran across the air. He reached the ground, and stopped his running to a slow walk. The target stopped under a street lamp. The sand had been slightly washed away from the cobbled roads of Pony Ville by the heavy rain. The target removed their arm from under their cloak and produced a shiny black object that resembled a gauntlet more than a duel disk. A bright green matterwave shot out from it.

        “Oh? Is this a challenge? How could I say no?” The violet blue headed Mage said. As he did, walls of bright green flames erupted from all around him, giving off a sickly green and black smoke. The Mage smiled and chuckled to himself.

        “Really now, is all this necessary?” He drew a circled in the air with a dark violet glowing hand. It expanded and smothered the flames around him, putting them out. He then performed and elbow motion with his arm, simultaneously coating it with magic and expanding a bright silver matterwave. He walked forward until he was about twenty feet from his target.

        “DUEL!” he and his target said in unison, a white light shooting from Eclipse's matterwave, and a black one from the opponent. The green flames erupted again.

        “Come now, didn't I tell you that was unnecessary?” He circled the air with his finger again, but this time, his magic shattered once it reached the flames.

        “What the hell?” The sound of a woman's laugh came from the target.

        “Oh, ho ho ho, I know exactly who you are...” The eyes from underneath the hood were glowing the same bright green as the flames. She drew five cards, and in response so did he.

        “Pompous queen's brat. Prepare to be sacrificed to me!” The woman placed a card on the matterwave.

        “To begin your demise, I will summon the Hive Sorceress from my hand!” The green flames erupted in a circle again, leaving behind an almost pale green skinned woman wearing tattered black clothing with dark, jade green hair. Her eyes had blue sclera and black rings for irises with bright white pupils inside. She carried a twisted wooden black staff that was riddled with holes, and floated on what looked like the wings of a fairy, but riddled with holes and tears all along them. Her left ear had a bishop piece on it.

        “Okay... keep going, you might just be worth my time after all.” The woman retorted.

        “Insolent fool. The effect of Enchantress activates when she is summoned. I may target a level 6 or lower monster from my hand and special summon it. Come forth, my servant, Hive Enchantress!” Another green skinned woman wearing tattered black clothing with ripped up fairy wings. This one was wearing considerably less than the other one. As a matter of fact, to call this one a hooker would be an understatement. Maybe a lingerie sales woman would be better. She carried a similar twisted staff like the first one, but it was much shorter, and looked to be more of a dagger than a staff. Her right ear had a bishop piece dangling from her lobe.

        “Ooh, a call girl. Are you trying to seduce me to death?” He said with a laugh in his voice.

        “Oh, you simpleton. Thinking with one head must be hard enough for you, I'm sure that two is more than you can handle...”

Damn, that was scathing. Well played.

“Now, this might just be a little hard to understand, so you might try and focus on me a little more than her. When Hive enchantress is summoned, I am allowed to add a Hive spell to my hand. I'll be taking Synergy of the Hive.” The woman swiped a card, and her hand started to glow with a dark yellow-green smoke, but at the same time, there were hints of black smoke in there as well.

        “Well, well, well, what do we have here? You've got somebody else inside you... so how about a name huh? You already seem to know mine.” The woman laughed.

        “Ha! Fool, you truly expect me to just hand you my name? Filthy child of light, I will consume you.”

        The man rolled his head around and popped his neck. He had stopped smiling.

        “One, two, three, four... you've sinned four times today alone. Ah wait. Five.” The woman ignored him and played another card.

        “Silence you ignorant creature. I activate the effect of Synergy. By targeting the Hive Knight in my Extra deck, my two monsters on the field gain his level, both becoming level 8. Now... I overlay my Sorceress and my Enchantress!” The black and greenish smoke that was emanating from the woman's hand started to rise into the sky above the monsters, forming a sickly vortex of malicious energy. The two creatures turned into dark violet orbs and flew inside of it.

        “The Hive is now under my control! The thorns grow and spread among the garden, killing each and every flower! The Dark Queen of the blackest abyss rises from the ashes of her foes corpses! Come forth, Nightmare, the Black Demon!” From the black vortex in bright viridian flames descended what could only be described as a creature made of nightmares. It was in the shape of a woman, almost a shadow, but it had massive claws on either hand. It's face was black nothingness, save for a single bloody red eye and a set of impossibly sharp, smiling, teeth. On it's back were shadowy sharp effigies of wings that moved and swayed with a sickening rhythm. Two violet orbs floated around it, and it had 4000 attack.

        “When the nightmare is summoned, she deals damage to my opponent equal to half of their life points. Take the wrath of the Demon Queen, filthy goddess son!” The Nightmarish Shadow let out a blood curdling scream, and shot two tendrils of shadow at the man. They pierced his left shoulder and destroyed his dark red coat at the same time. He clutched his wound in pain.

        “Ha! This is only the beginning, child of the daughters! I now activate the effect of my Nightmare! By detaching all of it's material, you take half of your life points as damage, and I gain that amount!” The creature spread it's shadowy wings out and shot tendrils from from them in every direction. The man didn't move an inch. Each spiral of dark matter scraped at his skin, with one shooting through his wounded shoulder. He winced again.

        “And now, I will set your final demise! The minute you start your turn, you will die, Divinity's scum!” The woman was about to set three cards when she noticed the man smile.

        “Oh, my turn? Oh ho ho, no, my turn won't be coming. You see, you've already lost this game.” The woman reeled back.

        “What!? Have you lost your mind!?” The man shook his head.

        “You know, It's been a long time since I've won a game without taking my turn. FTK's are one of the true highlights of my deck. There aren't that many out there who can do what I can.” The woman was unsettled by the calmness of his voice.

        “Silence you nonsense you rambling fool! Y-you have lost!” The man laughed. His whole body was beginning to radiate a dark violet smoke.

        “I guess it's about time I saw what happened with my men. I activate the effect of The Mirror of Yamirix.” He placed a card from his hand onto the field.

        “When my opponent deals effect damage to me, I can special summon this card from my hand.” A black flame formed a circle in the ground, then the shape of a Harmonian rune, one that was on every single card the opposing woman had summoned. Out of the fire cam a mirror with a demonic rim with runes that shined with a bright violet light from inside.

        “When this card is summoned by this effect, and my opponent's life points are higher than mine, they become equal to mine.” The mirror reflected the shadow beast inside itself and then shot tendrils of darkness out from it's reflective surface. The tendrils hit and scarred the woman in all the same places that Eclipse had been injured, specifically through the left shoulder. Her black cloak had been torn, revealing a blank shoulder. A back up, just like she predicted. He thought to himself.

        “I thought as much. So tell me, puppet. Where is your master hiding?” The woman clutched her own shoulder and yelled out in pain.

        “I... Have no master...! Aaaugh!” The man shook his head.

        “You disappoint me. I might as well tell you why, I suppose. Your first sin was taking control of this girl's body. I don't know where you are hiding, but when I find you, that will be your first lashing. I activate the effect of The Mirror of Hikaritz. When a player takes effect damage, I can special summon this card.” A circle of bright white light formed another Harmonian rune. Out of a column of light appeared another mirror, its rim draped in soft white cloths with runes sewn into the fabric glowing with bright white light.

        “When this card is summoned this way, I gain life points equal to the damage dealt.” The white mirror shot a light above the woman's head, which then bounced off the black mirror and back at Eclipse. The wound on his shoulder had healed itself, and all the bloody spots along the edges of his body returned to normal. He rotated his arm around in it's socket and popped his neck again.

        “That's much better.” The man pushed his hair out of his face, and returned his glare back to the girl.

        “Now then... Your second sin was coming to challenge me. I activate the effect of The Mirror of Mizuli. I can special summon this card when a player gains life points.” A pool of glowing water formed next to the second mirror. A blue glowing rune was shining on it's surface, and then it formed a column of ice. The ice shattered, and out of that came a new mirror. This mirror's rim was made of ice and had blue glowing runes shining from inside.

        “When this card is summoned this way, my opponent discards cards equal to the number of mirror monsters I control. In this case, it would be the rest of your hand.” The mirror's surface now showed a torrent of water coming from the other side. Once the water looked as if it would collide with the mirror's surface, the wave passed through and grew with the falling rain and the muddy street. The torrent hit the woman and knocked her over, forcing her cards into her disk. The woman tried to rise to a stand, only to barely manage it.

        “Is... ha... that all... ulp... filth of... the daughters?” The man shook his finger.

        “You see, that is your third sin. You've been saying nasty things about my mother and her sister ever since I arrived. What's worse is that you don't even realize that you've insulted my father too. I activate the effect of The Mirror of Kazald. I can special summon this card when my opponent discards a card.” Wind started to gather and spin in the wet cobble ground, forming a rune. It glowed with a bright green light and spun rapidly into the air, leaving a mirror behind. This mirror's rim was covered in carved and polished pale birch wood with green glowing runes etched into it.

        “When this card is summoned this way, all monsters on my opponent's field are returned to the deck, or the extra deck in your case.” The rain began to swirl in the tornado that was coming from the front of the mirror. The rapid spinning, rising wind made it's way toward the nightmare creature that was sucked up inside. It faded into particles, and the woman's field and hand were both empty now.

        “Your fourth sin, was attacking my mothers people, my people. The residents of Fauna are under our protection. For attacking them, you have declared war. As such, we will react appropriately. Finally, I activate the effect The Mirror of Hokonet. When a card is removed from the field I can special summon this from my hand.” A ring of bright red flames formed a circle and then another rune. The flames erupted and a new mirror was in the last space on his field. It's rim was made of charred orange and black rock with bright red runes carved into it.

        “But alas, You've committed five sins today. Now then... would you like to guess what your last sin was?” He stared at the glowing eyes of the Mage. The woman spat at him.

        “Those mirrors...! You! You're one of the priests of Fauhime! Filthy priest! I'll kill you and your family! Especially that wretched father of yours!” The man sighed.

        “Repentance is often denied by those who are offered it. You've slaughtered my mother's people, you've slaughtered my father's people, ergo, you've slaughtered my people. Yet, even these pale in comparison to your last sin. Your last sin... is that you offend my god. Be purged of this girl's body, foul demon Umbra! Take 1000 damage for each mirror I control!” The mirror of flame moved above the woman, and each other mirror shot a beam of colored light into it then from the fire mirror, a beam of red light surrounded by flame engulfed the woman. It burned away at the black cloak she was wearing and the black smoke that was emanating from her hands disappeared. The woman was reveled to be a much younger girl with short black hair. The flames dispersed, and the girl had fallen to the ground.

        Quickly, the man covered the girl in a protective barrier. Just as he thought, a giant black spike of energy shot up through the ground and into his barrier, aimed right at her heart. He'd reacted quick enough to catch and move her out of the way, but not quick enough to completely stop the evil magic from hurting the girl. It pierced one of her arms, putting a good sized hole through her bicep. The man quickly went to work repairing her arm.

        “Fume, status!” Static came in from the other side of the disk comm. “Fume! Fume, Report!” More static until finally, he responded.

        “Sir... it doesn't look good.” He was silent again.

        “Fume, tell me exactly what happened on your side. What's going on over there?” The man responded quicker.

        “I ended up stopping the duel, Crosshair was in a tight spot but... as soon as I did... that kid got skewered. None of us even had the time to react... some kind of black spike shot out through the ground and took his heart out... it's... it's just a bloody mess now...” Them man slammed his fist on the ground. “Damn it!” He heard coughing coming from the ground. The girl was beginning to come to. She tried to move her arm, then winced in pain.

        “Hey, easy now. You were pretty banged up and I just finished healing you. Try not to move. Can you speak?” The girl looked up at him and nodded.

        “Mmhmm... My name is... my name... is... what... what is my name?” The girl struggled to try and remember, but soon enough, her fatigue got the best of her, and she fell asleep. Of everything that could have possibly gone wrong, this is the least of them. An amnesiac over dead any day. Things don't look good though. This rain is relentless. Any hope of collecting data on the magic used by that witch is gone now.

        “Head back to the station. I want all three of you to file very detailed reports over the events you've just witnessed. Write them like the queens themselves are going to read them. Chances are that they will. I have the other target in custody and I will begin questioning her as soon as I get her out of the rain. One of my... relatives is living in this town right now, and he just so happens to be a member of the core himself. I expect to see all three of you with your official reports by 18 tomorrow. Do not be late. Eclipse out.” He gave them a moment to respond as he picked up the girl.

        “Roger, sir. Crosshair is in pretty bad shape, so we'll be taking him back to the station for treatment.” Said the Angel officer over the static of the comm.

        “Very well. Keep him alive. You're stressed enough for personnel as is. But after you've treated Crosshair, take the body back to the station for further examination.” Eclipse started to head in the direction he knew his cousin to be with the dark haired teenager in his arms.

        After a few moments, he heard Officer Fume again. “One last thing sir, if I may.” The man sighed. He didn't want to talk but decided it wouldn't hurt.

        “What is it?” More static and the sound of sloshing foot steps until the officer spoke again.

        “This relative of yours... he wouldn't happen to be an Angel in his twenties would he? Monochromatic hair and feathers?” The man stopped. Had Fume and Zephraim come into contact with one another? Wait a minute... Fume... why was that name so familiar?

        “That is none of your concern. This channel will be deactivated until 17:50 tomorrow.” He tapped a few buttons on his disk, and the signal was terminated. He decided to pick up the pace. He needed to have a word with his cousin. The dimly lit streets with their muddy coatings glistened with each ripple that raindrops made as the connected with the ground. As horrible as the night had been, there was an odd beauty to the harsh rain on this desert town. The square brick buildings looked strangely welcoming in the dark rainy night. He continued down the main road until he reached town hall again. He then made a right, toward the large tree down the road where his cousin was supposed to be.

        “Sir?” He looked down to see a pair of yellow eyes looking back at him. She had unusually pale skin, almost to the point of it being translucent in some areas, and shiny jet black hair.

        “Ah, you're awake. Do you need something?” He asked. She made no effort to try and remove herself from his arms, so she wasn't likely still under Umbra's control.

        “I just wanted to know your name. I... can't remember my own, but... I thought I might thank my rescuer at least.” The man gave her a kind smile. Something rare for anyone to see on the face of the second Lunar son.

        “I am Eclipse Corona.” The girl simply stared at him in awe.

        “Thank you, Mr. Corona. Um, for rescuing me that is.” She didn't seem to have a very energetic personality, unless this was just a side effect of fatigue.

        “There's no need for that. I do a thankless job. Is there anything you remember? Anything at all?” The girl furrowed her brow again in thought.

        “Not really... oh, wait! There is something! The year! It's the turn of the millennium isn't it? 2999?” The man narrowed his eyes.

        “Uh... you don't happen to remember your age do you?” The girl thought hard again, but it looked like she had come up with something.

        “I think... I was really excited for the new millennium because I was about to turn... fifteen? Yes! I'm going to turn fifteen soon!” The man frowned. He thought she looked oddly small when he was dueling her but... this...

        “I... Based on what you've told me, you were born in 2985 right?” The girl thought again, then nodded.

        “Yes sir. I believe that's right.” The man bit his tong.

        “Then that makes you... almost ten years older than me.” The girl was very confused by his statement.

        “What? That's not possible, you're like, twice my size. If I had to guess, I would say you're like, twenty or something. so... that would make you five years older than me.” The man shook his head.

        “Physically, that may be true, but as far as time is concerned, it's July 9th, 3016.” He had come to a stop in front of the giant tree library doors.

        “But... there's no way... It was winter... Ow, my head!” The girl started to press her fingertips into her forehead and cover her face. The man stopped his magic umbrella to open the doors with it. Inside he saw two rather large piles of books on either side of a figure with spiky hair sitting on a large wooden table. The figure turned to see what had caused the noise, then spoke.

        “Master Eclipse?” Recognizing the voice, Eclipse nearly dropped his amnesiac.

        “Andromeda!? How did you?” The sorcerer immediately stood and greeted the vampiric Mage. “I had no idea you were going to be here! It is fantastic to see you. Here, let me light the room. Had I known you were coming, I would have had this place in far better shape.” The sorcerer brought the man inside and raised both of his hands covered in a light blue light. The books in one pile started to fly all around and onto shelves, where as the single candle that was lit shot flames at every other candle in the room. A large golden chandelier hanging from the high ceiling was also now producing flames from it's twelve candles.

        “That looks... out of place. Where did you get that?” The Mage said, pointing to the golden centerpiece.

        “As it turns out, there is a hidden corridor at the end of the staircase that leads to the upper floor. It travels quite deep beneath the tree to an underground cellar of some sort. There are many things there that, well, quite honestly shouldn't be. I decided putting this out would bring some life to this dreary place. But we can discuss that later... who is she?” He said as he put his left to his face and his right to his elbow. “She isn't quite... normal is she?” The girl looked from the man, to the sorcerer, and back to the man.

        “Um... what exactly is going on?” The man frowned.

        “If I had the answer to that... I'd probably be on vacation right now.”