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It took several hours to drive there, but I was at the outskirts of an abandoned Cryptic Guard post right before I'd cross into the Marsh Swamp. It wasn't a pleasant place, especially if you were like me and knew of the area's history ever since The Great War. It smelled worse than meeting a person who hadn't taken a bath in a week but still chose to exercise and perhaps roll around in a bit of mud for the sake of being dirty. Just mentioning the scenario in my mind made me flash back to as far back as I could remember.

There she was, in my memories; my mother. I remember her vividly, which was a reason why Bane was able to create her as a mirage in my mind when I was still fighting my way out of my coma. I could see my young self as well, playing around the house and getting dirty with mud and other debris. She was shaking her head, watching me get dirty with the mud around the house. Playing in the mud was something I was prone to do at the time and my mother always lectured me about it. Even in this early memory, despite lecturing me, I can see the soft smile among her cheeks. I could hear vague sentences in my head, with possibly a younger me and her talking to one another.

I stopped the Hoover Bike right after entering the Marsh Swamp and held my forehead gently. Tears had begun to swell up in my eyes, as they normally did whenever I remembered either of my parents.

"Stop with the flashbacks," I grumbled to myself. "Stop it. I get it. They're gone. Quit torturing me with them. I'll find out who killed them, but I want to be happy. For Tay."

"You do know you can always try and talk things out, right?" Bane asked as I put my face into my hands. "I might have enjoyed antagonizing you, you know, but I don't like seeing you like this. Payne probably won't admit it, but he'd more than likely feel the same way."

"What's there to talk about?" I asked. "It's just a sudden memory. I don't know why it was triggered. I just..." I trailed off as I looked down the left side of the dirt path.

"What is it?" he asked.

I didn't answer right away before turning the key in the ignition and moved the Hoover Bike off of the path and headed into the woods.

"I have a feeling I know why that memory triggered," I said.

"Do you?" he asked.

I soon came to a clearing, where it looked like trees had been ripped from a large patch. Not many people came into the Marsh Swamp, so it wasn't surprising that if anything happened to the trees. They'd be on the ground, blown apart or just rotting away. Once I did arrive at the opening, Bane seemed to shudder as he came to the realization why the memory was triggered.

"This is where you... I mean we... lived," he said.

"Yeah," I said. "The rotting wood from the structure of the hut we lived in is still here, though almost completely gone."

I leaned on the front of my Hoover Bike, looking at the GPS. I raised an eyebrow and hopped off of it and then picked up the Communicator.

"It says we're here," I said, looking around. "This better not be some sort of sick joke to Bortelli."

Putting my Communicator away, I looked around cautiously though I was bombarded with more sudden memories at such a fast rate that I had to hold my head again. I kept seeing both my mother and father, hearing them laugh and constantly encourage me. The memories were short, but vivid. I clenched my other fist and slammed it into a nearby tree.

"Stop it!" I yelled before getting onto my knees as the memories didn't seem to listen. Instead, they seemed to loop.

I opened my eyes, trying to make the memories less vivid before noticing something strange around me. The forest was now in an eerie purple hue. I stumbled backward, blinking as I felt a wall behind me. Quickly turning around, I noticed a hut there. My old home.

"What the hell?" I asked, backing away from it. "My house. W-What's going on?"

My heart raced as I tried to figure out the answer to my own question. I walked around it, noticing that the purple hue was increasing and essentially giving everything a purple tint. I found out the building was solid by touching it. It even felt like real wood. I gulped and put my hand around the door knob to see if it opened and to my surprise, it did open. I looked inside before heading into it. It was fully furnished and I vaguely remembered the layout of the said hut. I walked around for a few minutes before turning a corner and nearly jumping when a strange looking version of one of my parents stared at me. Suddenly, I felt a strange pressure as I couldn't make out the figure if it was my mother or father, but I could sense one of their presences. I'd feel hands around my arms before I was basically shoved and I fell backward, groaning. The purple world was now gone and everything was as dimly colored as it once was. The hut was no longer intact and I didn't see the strange figure anymore. I got up to my knees, looking around confusedly. After a few more minutes, I did hear a dark chuckle from a distance.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, dear boy," a voice called out.

I turned to where the voice came from and without a doubt it belongs to Bortelli. He was dressed in his signature pinstripe suit, complete with his own love for a pukey green color. His gray hair was slicked back and causing an environmental risk to the remaining living trees around the area with the amount of hair gel he had used. He had a cigar in his mouth and leaned to his right on what looked like a very expensive looking cane.

"Done running?" I asked, still rubbing my head. "And quit whatever it is that you were doing there. Parlor tricks aren't going to work. Jagger tried that already."

"How nice of you to think your little episode there was my doing, kid," Bortelli chuckled and seemed oddly relaxed. "I've been standing here, hoping you would go into a coma and I wouldn't have to do much, but we can't always get our way, can we?"

"If you weren't doing that, then what was?" I asked, clenching my fists as I was already in a combat stance.

"That's for me to know and you to find out if you're living long enough," he said, tapping his finger on his cane. "You're pretty cocky, by the way. Beating up my goons, Morta and Jagger and you think you're powerful, no?"

"I never made a self-proclamation like that, but if you feel that way, then why deny it?" I asked.

"Trust me, I can tell," he said, still puffing on his cigar. "Since you're still here, acting all heroic when you probably still don't know the meaning of the word, I take it my little last minute salvation plan didn't work."

"Salvation plan?" I asked. "Turning me into a murderous psychopath was what you consider salvation?!"

"It is in the eye of the beholder, but yes," he chuckled. "One last chance to show Vinchi you'd be of use to us, rather than just killin' ya. Unfortunately, you messed that up. Now, I didn't expect you to be able to somewhat tame that darkness, but you've left me no choice but with the only remaining option to kill you."

"Go ahead and try," I said. "Like Jagger, you seem to talk more than you fight."

"Oh, I do love spouting exposition," he chuckled. "You should know a few things before you die, shouldn't you? Such as what happened with that 'accidental' nuke launch, perhaps? Or why you have two types of spirits within you?"

"What?!" I blinked, focusing mostly on the word 'accidental' when he mentioned the nuke that obliterated most of my team.

Without thinking or hesitation, I charged at him full of anger. I tried to throw a punch at him, but he was surprisingly quick for such a big man. He had disappeared from my sight even before I got to his position. I couldn't feel his presence either, until he counter attacked me. Feeling a wretched feeling suddenly in my gut, I was knocked back and tumbled onto the ground. I groaned and slammed into a tree, which stopped my tumbling. It wasn't until I opened my eyes, though blurry, that I had realized he had struck me with his cane.

"Tisk, tisk, Mr. Silverbane," he said. "Charging in out of anger? Don't make this easy. Unlike you, Vinchi and I have studied the use of the energy we hold. One could say we even mastered it. What I'm trying to say is that you don't know the fraction of what we do and I only know half of what he does."

"Knowledge doesn't intimidate me," I said, holding my stomach as I winced in pain while getting back to my feet.

"Oh, but knowledge is power," he grinned widely. "But power isn't necessarily knowledge, right? You can be powerful and still be stupid. That's kind of funny in a way and that's how I'd describe you, honestly. Stupid, but powerful." He began to walk slowly, almost as if he was intentionally going to pace around as he spoke.

It did get under my skin, being called stupid and all. I hadn't been called that before, nor did I want to start being called that. I almost charged at him again before remembering that was a horrible idea. I grunted and held out my hand, trying to get myself to form my scythe, but there was only a dark spark and nothing happened.

"What the...?" I asked.

"Seems like you can't manifest your new weapon at will after all," he chuckled. "That simple cane knock took more out of you than you'd care to admit, I'm sure."

"Shut up," I said, growling now as he was truly getting even further under my skin.

"Anger is not your style," he said, having the same smug grin on his face.

"Lane, calm down and let's just assess the situation," Bane chimed in my head.

"Fine," I said to him. "Payne, try to figure out what's going on, alright?" I held out both of my hands as Bane's katanas formed effortlessly within their grip.

"Already doing that, dingus," Payne said. "Can't really find an answer for that, so have fun with being a ninja samurai thing."

"You can manifest your Donjy weapon at will, how interesting," Bortelli said. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed I had disappeared from his sight.

I tried to come down onto him with a large slash using my left katana, but he sensed my position and held up his cane. I smacked into it, but was shocked to see my blade not even penetrating what I thought was wood since the cane was fairly normal looking. Bortelli just grinned smugly before moving to attack me again. I managed to put my right katana up barely in time to block his punch. It felt rather powerful, though more than it should have been for a man of his large stature. I was forced to jump backward and enter a defensive stance. When I regained my balance to pay attention to him, I had realized he had disappeared from my vision.

"My large frame doesn't hinder me with the power that I have, Lane," he said, sounding like he was a bit distant from me now. "There's a reason I brought you out here and this speed isn't why."

In mere moments, I felt his cane crash into my back and send me toward large nearby tree. I tumbled onto the ground again and smashed into it, letting out a loud groan of pain. I held onto my Katanas as long as I could before they had slipped out of my hands just before the impact.

"So far, you're pathetic," he continued. "You killed Morta and Jagger. This doesn't entitle you to a smug attitude or a sense of accomplishment. Dons are assigned in order of power. Fourth is the lowest right before the non-superior ranks. You can guess how it goes from there." I grunted and looked up at him as I struggled to use my arms as leverage to get up. I managed to get onto my knees, but had to stop there as the pain I felt was rather bothersome. I could feel blood dripping from my knees as my pants had small holes torn in them and my legs had scars that were open, but not wide enough to let a massive amount of blood to flow out. It didn't matter too much regardless as the scars on my hands and arms were healing up. It still didn't really help the muscles worked and strained though. I was able to stand after about thirty more seconds as Bortelli refused to walk up to me and just finish me.

"I don't think you're giving me your all," he said. "That's disappointing. Weren't you excited to fight those other two? Perhaps it's because you know you've already lost?"

Ignoring him, I got back onto my feet and readied myself for another attack. I lunged at him, quickly slicing at him with my katanas. Unfortunately, I kept missing as he seemed to be able to move just before I could connect. It didn't take long at all before another blow from his cane connected with me and sent me back into one of the many trees surrounding us. Letting out a loud groan of pain, I fell to the ground without much energy left to get back up.

"This is upsetting," Bortelli said. "I haven't even shown you the true power of the Ryjy and you can't even stand now."

"I've seen the power," I said, grunting as I could barely use my arms to push up.

"No, you haven't," he chuckled. "You've seen the lowly newborn Ryjy. They might have seemed powerful to you at the time, but they're not. Vinchi and I have been in this far longer than they have. Jagger became obsessed with using Nether Energy as experiments and never got his proper training, where Morta was but a child that you killed." He slammed his cane down onto the ground. "I don't think you deserve to know what I can do. You do, however, deserve to die. We can't have you causing any ruckus, you know."

I looked in his direction again before realizing he had disappeared. It was only perhaps a split second later that I felt the bottom of his cane smash into my back and forced me to the ground again without much effort. I let out a cry of pain as it felt like an anvil had been dropped on me. He had that much force behind it. It lifted from my back and he used the butt of it to swing in front of my head and clock me in the right cheek, sending me tumbling on the ground a few feet. Blood dripped from my nose and mouth now as I couldn't really move after both impacts in short succession.

"You're only proving my point," he chuckled, holding his cane up in the air now..

I could make out the end of the cane shifting and a blade came out of it. He moved it down toward my chest at a rapid pace, intending on piercing it and stabbing it straight into my heart, much like how I had to do the same to Sprock, Morta and Jagger in order to kill them. As I waited for the inevitable, flashes of my life came before my eyes - Yuno, Tay, Bernie and the others. They looked happy whenever they were with me, Tay especially.

I won't die. I can't die. I have to win.

I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate before moving my arms fast enough to catch the cane just before the tip could touch the fabric of my shirt. I felt a strange connection, as if I had opened up a closed door and could hear Bane and Payne louder than ever.

"Oh?" he asked. "Not ready to accept your fate yet?"

I didn't answer him as I just grunted and pushed the cane away from my body. I rolled farther away from him before realizing I had a sudden energy rush. I used this energy to get back up and stared down Bortelli.

"I don't think anyone's allowed to determine my fate but me," I said.

Energy flew through me as I connected with Bane and Payne. I held out my left hand and my scythe formed in it very quickly. It felt like my regenerative abilities from Bane had kicked in and produced even faster results due to some sort of adrenaline. I gripped my scythe and readied it for battle now.

"Finally," Bortelli chuckled. "I see near death is the only way you can enter your Primal State. No matter. Now I get to have some real fun."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I said before running straight at him.

With just a chuckle, he managed to dodge my attack as I swung at him. I was much faster than before, but he still did it. As soon as I landed, I felt something wrap around my legs and made it near impossible to move. Grunting, I tried to get my legs free. I then felt Bortelli's presence behind me as he was on top of a rock.

"Attacking an opponent without knowing what they do?" he asked. "How childish. You're supposed to be a well-trained soldier, right? Did they not teach you that?"

I growled at him in response before slashing at what looked like vines holding my legs in place. They were easily destroyed before I jumped back and readied myself to attack again. I blinked when he had waved at me, seemingly unintimidated, before he snapped his fingers. I looked up as I felt a presence above me. I went wide-eyed and rolled out of the way as a large brick of ice slammed down on my former position.

"What the hell?" I asked, looking back at Bortelli.

"What?" he asked, chuckling. "I said it already, Lane. You don't know what I do, but you keep trying to just charge at me. Did you expect me to be easy, to not have any real power?"

"Why does this seem like a game to you?" I asked, clenching my free hand into a fist and gripping my scythe with the other. "Just fight me without taunting. You never shut up, you know."

I then jumped for him again before realizing he was holding his cane up and snapped his fingers again. Almost immediately, bombarded with thousands of miniature energy rockets that sparked blue in color. They hit me rapidly, sending me flying backward. Fortunately, I managed to flip and safely land on my feet.

"Ice, Earth and Arcane?" I asked, panting slightly from moving around so much.

"Good boy," he said. "Yes. I'm a Ryjy, but I practice something within the Acreat profession known as Transmutation."

"Acreat?" I asked. "The forbidden profession of studying Nether Energy."

"Smart boy," he said. "Transmutation is rarely successfully learned. Only a handful of Ryjy are able to do it and you're in the presence of one. I can transmute my Nether Energy into the types you've seen. Perhaps I could do more, but these are the most fun."

"You have three types at your disposal," I said. "Four, if you count Nether Energy as one. I'm not intimidated by you, Bortelli. It's a parlor trick. Just because you have that doesn't make you a good opponent."

"Mighty words," he said. "Let's put them to the test, shall we?"

I felt the ground shake slightly before vines broke through the ground and attempted to grab me again. I sliced at them, cutting them apart with ease. I then ran toward Bortelli before being cut off and struck in the jaw with a sudden ice wall rising from the ground and causing me to fly backward due to the strength it hit me. I regained myself and stood back up before studying my surroundings. If he was using Earth and Ice already, he had to use Arcane against me now. He seemed to follow a specific order, but I had no idea if he could do it in any fashion or not.

Just as my thought ended, I noticed his cane pointed at me before a large blue beam was fired in my direction. I used my scythe to guard myself and ended up deflecting it in Bortelli's direction, though it barely missed. I saw him grin wider now before he attacked me again, but this time in rapid form. A torrent of ice shot down from above my position and I darted South, while it followed me. It picked up speed and froze the ground around me before getting in front of me and forcing me to stop. The trees nearby began to move strangely and tried to fall in my direction. I decided to jump on the ice and slid further South before arcane whirelpools formed within the ice itself, forcing me to jump over them as I slid on a "course" he had created with his abilities. The whirlpools soon stopped and I was met with more vines trying to tangle me up. I struck my scythe in the ground and jumped up. The motion caused me to spin around my grounded scythe and then when I pulled it out, I went flying toward Bortelli. I yelled out his name in fury before striking him with the blunt end of my scythe, not intending on killing him yet.

Clearly surprised, Bortelli was struck and sent quite a few feet away from me when I landed after striking him. He hit a tree hard before falling to the ground, his cane falling down next to him.

"You still think this is a game," I said angrily at him. "I'm a joke opponent, am I? This joke opponent figured out how to take you out when you tried to only have fun with them."

"Fair enough," he said, uttering a darker chuckle now. He stood back up and grabbed his cane with his right hand. "You want a real fight. You got it."

I looked around, blinking in surprise, when several trees began to move and uprooted themselves around me and their branches moved about as if they were arms. It looked like his ice-based energy also formed weapons in the branches that split off, emulating fingers. One had a large sword, the other a smaller sword and a shield and the third one had an ice staff. For a moment, I felt like I was playing Dungeons and Defenders with Tay and Minnie, but I shook that from my mind. I had to react fast as the tree with the shield already ran toward me and sliced at me. I managed to block its attack with my scythe before shoving it away. This left me open for the tree with the larger sword. When I saw him out of the corner of my eye, I dodged its swing my rolling to his left. I used my scythe to slice at its right arm. It went right through and caused its 'arm' to fall to the ground and rendering it unable to use the sword. I felt good about that, but I then witnessed the incredibly fast regeneration of the branch and how quick it picked the sword back up.

"Dammit," I grumbled before dodging the third tree's blast of Arcane Energy at me.

Landing on my feet, I studied the moving trees and then grabbed my scythe with my free hand. Feeling the power surge now, I managed to increase my speed as I charged toward the tree holding the ice staff. I swung my scythe rapidly at it, slicing through its toughened bark diagonally and then horizontally. I went back and forth for a good ten seconds before watching the tree completely fall apart. I ran toward the next one, specifically the one with the larger sword.

"Such cockiness," Bortelli chuckled. "Would it really be that easy, hmm?"

I ignored him and sliced at the next tree, though it managed to block my stack with its sword. I grunted and began to put all of my strength into my swing. I paid little attention to a black aura beginning to appear around my body the longer I pushed against the block. It seemed like the longer this went on, the stronger I seemed to become. Soon enough, I knocked the sword away and sliced deep into the tree. I came out on the opposite side, but blinked when the tree filled with black light and exploded in front of me. I certainly didn't expect that.

I shook my head of the surprise and turned my attention to the last tree. The small black aura was still around me and I had noticed it after my attack due to it also surrounding my scythe. I kept both of my hands on it and dashed toward him. I let out a battle cry of my own before swinging it around as fast I could. I began to increase my speed the more I concentrated, turning into a miniature tornado. I slammed against the tree's shield, which did hold on impact. I couldn't do this for long as I'd become incredibly disoriented. I grunted and yelled out again as I forced myself to push out enough power to begin penetrating the shield. Once I was slightly through, the shield crumbled and I drilled right into the awaiting tree. I went through it completely and landed on the ground behind it.

Panting a bit, I turned toward Bortelli with only one hand on my scythe now. I wanted to grin at him, but I felt that stooped to his level.

"Your powers aren't impressive," I said. "They're downright shameful compared to Jagger's or even Morta's. I'm going to end you and I'll do the same to Vinchi once I'm through."

"Oh, if you get me, you won't like what's on the other side," Bortelli seemed to chuckle. "Believe me, I know. You haven't defeated me or my minions yet though. Ever play a video game, my boy? There's always phases."

"Phases?" I asked, before growling audibly at him. "This isn't a game. You're really starting to annoy me."

I positioned my scythe before noticing he wagged his finger and pointed behind me. Humoring him, I looked back before noticing the energies combining from the trees.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, turning to face it. Bortelli may have been in my sights, but this would have definitely gotten to me and possibly killed me.

"Phase 2," he said, leaning on his cane. "I call it Boss Rush."

Suddenly, arcane walls enclosed the area where I was and where the energy was gathering. I tried to slice my way out of it, but my scythe wouldn't even go through it. It was large enough to move about in, but something told me that wasn't the plan. The energies fused together, exploding in rays of different light. There was soon a mighty roar as a massive tree with fire coming out of its mouth and sword-shaped tree limbs was staring me down intensely. It was rather large, perhaps taller than a small building. I was intimidated a bit by this. A set of numbers appeared, though lighter in color so I could see them, on the left wall, depicting ten minutes.

"That's how much time I'm allowing you in order to pass through Phase 2," he laughed a bit manically. "If you can't, either Big Bessie there will kill you or the shrinking battlefield will. Phase 3 begins immediately after that's over if you survive."

I narrowed my eyes and grabbed my scythe again before looking over Big Bessie.

"This guy pulls out all the show-offy stuff, doesn't he?" Payne asked. "I'm glad you could get the scythe out again, kid, but you got a plan?"

"No, unfortunately," I responded.

"I don't either," Bane contributed. "The only thing we have to go on is that we're effective against the trees when separated. Together, however, I fear our slicing may not cut it."

"Good pun," Payne said.

"Is this really the time?" Bane asked. "Well, Lane, you're beginning to learn to harness your abilities for more than just physical fighting judging by that aura, Lane. Perhaps we can figure something out with that? Payne would know, but it wouldn't be learning without trying to think of it yourself."

"I know," I said. "I never liked doing things the easy way regardless. If I can generate some sort of power based on this aura, I'd wager it is Nether Energy based. I have to think fast though. I have a time limit and I don't plan on dying today."

I jumped toward the left arcane wall as a group of arcane energy spheres were bombarding my position rather quickly. I looked the tree over before running toward it. I was trying to think up of a plan, but also thinking about what Bane had said. My powers aren't only for physical purposes. I could cast my own energy based spells. I had access to two of the Energy Elements, Light and Nether. If the dark aura was around me, it had to be some sort of field or shield empowered by the Nether Energy I had access to.

"Light and dark powers," I said to myself as I slid underneath the large tree, confusing it momentarily since it couldn't bend down very far.

The said tree turned around and slammed its sword down on my position. The impact hit me, rather than the blade, and hurled me into the adjacent wall. I groaned as it stung like a thousand bees readying their needles for piercing through my cheeks as I bounced off of it. I tried to regain my concentration as I forced myself to get up. I held my left arm as it had suffered the most damage in the impact. I closed my eyes and concentrated before there was a flash of light around me and my arm was back to fully functioning. I was a fair distance away from the tree due to the impact, giving me some more time to think. My aura was still around my body, though not acting as a shield anymore. I stared at my scythe, the sun shining off of the gray steel that it was composed off. The edge of the blade was razor sharp, meaning it could possibly cut through the tree if it wasn't so thick or heavily influenced by Bortelli's Nether Energy.

While still staring at my scythe, I began to focus my Nether Energy around it. It began to vibrate slightly, while the energy around the blade itself pulsated and began to darken as it covered the entire blade, effectively turning it fully into a dark shade purple. It seemed like it was going to turn black if I tried to concentrate any more of my power. I had to think fast as the sword was coming down on my position again. I used my knowledge of the previous attack to evade it this time and struck its right arm with my empowered scythe. It took more strength than I usually used, but I managed to slice through it. The limb fell off and landed with a loud thud. It roared out in obvious pain, as it couldn't hold its gigantic ice sword anymore, though I expected the regeneration process seen in the smaller trees to take effect. When nothing happened after about half a minute, I moved my attack onto the next arm, which had given up in wielding the huge blade. It resorted to using the Ice Energy it had to form a plate of armor around its arm and hand before slamming down just before any direction I would go. It was intelligent and could adapt, which did impress me. However, I wasn't there to be impressed. I was there to win. I jumped up quickly when the next fist slammed down into the ground in front of me. I ran up the covered knuckle and used my empowered scythe to cut through the ice armor and slicing both it and the arm itself in two.

With a safe landing on the ground in front of the tree as it roared out in even more agonizing pain, I turned back toward it and readied my blade to its center. I still only held it was one hand, but I wanted this to end. I blinked, noticing that the limbs were in fact regenerating, but they seemed to take much longer than the smaller ones did. I ground my teeth before growling in frustration.

"This game ends now, Bortelli!"I shouted, full of anger and hatred for that man. The increase in anger seemed to amplify my aura, causing it to shutter and strengthen. It darkened as well, becoming closer to black than to purple. I placed my free hand onto my scythe's handle before narrowing my eyes.

With a mighty, though throaty, grunt, I used my scythe's increased power as energy formed around the top of it into a ball. I lifted it above my head and then threw it as hard as I could. The force behind the throw even surprised me, as it felt like I had just hurled an entire building with the strength of thirty men. The large ball of black energy came into contact with the tree, quickly engulfing it as it exploded in a huge ray of light within the containment cube. It was bright, despite being colored black, and I had to shield my eyes with my right arm to avoid being blinded by it. I was panting heavily after the attack, but when it was over and the energy dissipated, I uncovered my eyes and noticed bits of the tree scattered about, with the Ice Sword broken in two and melting on the ground and even the containment cube was gone.

"This is going to be fun," Bortelli chuckled, which made my blood boil more than it already had.

"I'm done playing games," I said, grabbing my scythe again and trying to collect my energy a second time for another powerful attack like that.

I tried for a minute straight as Bortelli stared at me, but I couldn't even form the ball anymore. I was panting more, as if I was on my last bit of energy. I didn't feel terribly winded, but stamina and power might have been different in terms to the fabled energy types.

"All out of juice already?" he asked, leaning on his cane slightly. "That's a shame. That tree wasn't even my best work. You had to do that powerful attack just to beat him. Perhaps you're not worth fighting after all." He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and attempted to light it.

My eye twitched as I still held onto my scythe. He didn't seem frightened, even by my exertion of such power. I was a bit frightened myself as I had no idea I could do it. Unfortunately, it seemed like a one-time use for some time. I should have thought up a better strategy for defeating that tree minion of his, but I wanted to end it quickly. It wasn't until then that I had recalled one of the very few helpful lessons from the Crimson Guard. Patience makes a warrior while impatience makes you into a foolish coward. The amount of power that attack took though was definitely taking its toll as I felt both Payne and Bane feel weakened by using so much together. I wouldn't let that stop me though. I wasn't raised as a quitter.

I kept my hands gripped on the handle before yelling out as I charged at him with full force. He seemed surprised by this as I jumped into the air and my blade came down on his position. He seemed to try and dodge me, but when he couldn't, he ended up using his cane to block me.

"Attacking with blunt force again?" he asked. "This didn't work last time."

I growled in frustration and let out a louder grunt as I tried to force my natural strength into my weapon as I sought out to break the cane in two and inflict damage upon him. I was beginning to push the cane downward at least before he was able to push me back hard and strike me with it. I went flying backward despite being able to block it.

Performing a backflip, I landed on my feet and continued to heavily pant from exhaustion. I didn't know what that cane was made of or if it was just protected by his own Nether Energy, but either way, it was powerful.

"Not bad," he said, holding it outward toward me now. "I guess you really wanna fight me to my fullest extent. It is kind of being boring just being at 10% of my ability." He shrugged and then once the cane was turned around and the blade from earlier was visible and then struck through his chest.

I raised an eyebrow curiously, trying not to look surprised as Bortelli had stabbed himself with his own cane. I looked around as there was rumbling around both him and I. Purple energy began to swarm around Bortelli's body as he laughed maniacally from the stab wound, though the cane seemed to quickly be shrinking into his body as he was surrounded and soon engulfed in so much Nether Energy that I couldn't see through it. I had to guess that the cane was actually a part of him. It did give me a reason to believe that would be why it seemed indestructible. His fur turned into the dark shade of purple that I had seen before with Morta, Sprock and Jagger all transforming into their Ryjy forms. There were audible cracking noises even that I could hear as his body contorted strangely. His arms grew larger and longer, the muscles having expanded quite a bit and had no signs of once being just fat-filled arms. His legs had grown in length as well, becoming just as muscular as his outfit was being torn apart, and leaving what would look like a loincloth around his waist. He seemed incapable of normal speech at the moment, only roaring and growling. His face seemed to lengthen as sharper teeth were visible from the very large snout he now possessed. His big, flabby chest was now well toned and brimming with muscle as if he had beyond a perfect body builder physique. His eyes were a strict purple color now. The pupils had also disappeared from them.

Just as I thought the transformation was over, a huge wave of energy burst around him as he began to grow a second set of muscular arms and was continually growing taller. An aura of his own appeared around his growing form much like I had mine around me. Gripping my scythe with both of my hands, I pointed it toward him as I was prepared for an assault. He seemed to finish growing when he made it above the tallest tree in the forest. A large dome formed on his back, though it was heavily protected with rock-hard skin as I had noticed at least the texture of it and his entire skin took on a texture that would remind me of the rocks around where I stood.

"At least you're not holding back now," I said as I looked over his true form. "That's a lot of power you have there."

He just seemed to chuckle as he looked at me, his hands becoming covered in what appeared to be Arcane Energy. His sanity seemed to be in tact as he hadn't charged straight into me like a Neanderthal would have after my own display of power.

"It's time to die," he said before slamming his fists together and then raising them above his head. They came crashing down, sending a large wave of Arcane Energy along the ground and toward me.

I turned around and ran, needing to get to higher ground as the wave was catching up to me quickly. I had to use my abilities more often otherwise this would be a quick losing battle for me. If I could harness the Nether Energy power I had within me, I could do the same with the Light Energy. I jumped onto a set of rocks and ran along them as I concentrated. The wave was below me, but I figured it could travel up something like these rocks, so I needed to still run. I held up my right hand as my left hand still gripped the scythe. I focused on Bane's abilities and searched for a newer one I hadn't seen yet. I knew he helped me recover and regenerate, but also could protect me with his own aura - the Nether version was just a stronger version. I connected with him again, as I had before, and felt the power rush through my veins. I felt like I was moving faster now and once I looked around, I did notice everything seemed a bit more blurry. Bane controlled speed as well, it seemed. I managed to increase my speed even more before jumping jump and landing against a wall with my feet hitting it. I used my legs to bend and spring me off of it. I then flew back toward Bortelli as I gripped my scythe with two hands again.

The look Bortelli had given me seemed to be of some genuine surprise, as I had just flew over the Arcane Wave after me and was flying straight toward him. I sliced at his left arm, managing to leave a small gash in it as I flew past. As I slowed down, I flipped over and landed on the ground with a loud thud. It did hurt a bit, but not as much as I expected it to. I looked back as I heard Bortelli just growl, perhaps in frustration, at me.

"Just die, kid," he said. "It won't be worth surviving what you'll run into and I'm not talking about the Baron."

"That's for me to decide, not you," I said. "I'm going to end you and Vinchi once and for all so I'll be rid of your damn organization." I once again turned to face him, having my battle stance ready.

I narrowed my eyes as I concentrated again in combining my two abilities before they came together and began to form the aura around my body and around my blade.

"You can't move when you charge up," Bortelli said. "How pathetic."

I was caught off guard by his speech as he had disappeared and his voice came from my right. I moved myself to be on the defensive3, but I was a second too late before being struck with a fist covered in what I would call ice-based shielding. The impact sent me far back, bouncing on the and flipping over the ground several times before finally hitting a tree. My back had made a dent in it as I sat there for a few seconds, trying to stop being dizzy from the flipping. I coughed violently, having some blood spill from my lips but it wasn't much. I rose from the ground, holding my left side with my right hand. I had one eye open from wincing as I watched Bortelli walk toward me. Due to his size, it wouldn't take long to get to my position.

I tried to think fast and moved my scythe and tried to charge it up with just one hand. It didn't seem to work that well as there was not nearly enough energy to warrant another attack like I had done earlier. There was the other fact that Bortelli had managed to grab me with one of his gigantic hands and was crushing me with it.

"This wasn't so hard," he taunted. "I have the problem. The fly in our soup. You couldn't lead your way out of a box either; otherwise your friends wouldn't have died, right?" Only person we didn't get that I count as a person is that stupid girl. Oh well."

As he talked, I did struggle to find a way to free myself as he was repeatedly squeezing me. I kept groaning and letting out winded coughs before his free hand was above me. I could feel ice forming around me before I was boxed in and couldn't move at all. I was frozen in a large ice cube and set on the ground. I shivered from the sudden drop in temperature around me before realizing he wasn't going to grant me a swift death. He wanted me to suffer - either through suffocation or freezing to said death. He began walking away from me, still with his smug attitude.

"That will hopefully teach you in the next life that you won't be a worry to her," he said.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get my body ot budge, even when he mentioned this mysterious woman again. It made my blood boil, especially as I began reliving what I had seen when hunting down Jagger. My left eye twitched as images of a possessed Tay shooting Runo point blank and seeming not to shed a tear of regret immediately rather than a few seconds later. Was she the one they were talking about? Was Tay the woman I read about in Jagger's journals? No, it couldn't be her. I began to grit my teeth angrily as combining the two things was only making me more frustrated. I needed to know who the woman was and if it was Tay, I certainly couldn't harm her. I let out a loud yell as my aura managed to return around my body, but in full force as it would appear like I was bathing in a purple flame.

Bortelli seemed to sense something wrong with his victory as he stopped walking and turned back toward me. I saw this out of the corner of my eye as a sudden burst of power surged around me and broke open my icy tomb.

"Bortelli!" I shouted up into the clouds. The purple flaming aura around my body hadn't dissipated just yet. I could feel the flow of energy throughout my body between Bane and Payne being rapid, but also going in a circle. It was as if my power was recycling itself. I grabbed my scythe and yanked it from the ice it was still stuck in with no problems. "You mentioned that damned woman I kept reading about! You're going to tell me who the hell your organization really is and you will tell me who the hell is so afraid of me!" I put both hands on my scythe and power erupted from it, with a tall flame forming above the blade but still bathed in my own aura as it connected to me.

"Impressive," he replied with a slight hint of intimidation. "You want answers, huh? You won't get any from me. That would be Vinchi's job. You have a vendetta against him, don't you? If not, you certainly will."

"Shut up!" I shouted. "I've had it with your taunting!"

I ran toward him at an amazing speed and once again surprised him. He was quick to block, but my slashes at his arms were still damaging them as I aimed for them rather than aiming to go through them. I moved fast enough to confuse him slightly as it may have looked like I was teleporting and slashing at him randomly. I had let the anger get the better of me and was lost in my own sea of it. The battle was dragging on and I was tired of being told I was feared by this unknown woman when I had done nothing wrong to her - or anyone, for that matter. The only exceptions to that thought are my former teammates. In fact, having that thought enter my head only angered me more. I let out a loud grunt and shouted at him. I used more of my power with each of my slashe before it was enough to break his block.

I used this opportunity to come down on him and slice him through his left shoulder. The force was so great that it went clean through. There was no moment that it had gotten stuck. His arm had come completely off. I landed on the ground and jumped back, panting once again from exhausting myself with exerting so much energy and using it to focus on that blow.

"H-How the hell...?" Bortelli asked, seeming genuinely confused and concerned now. "No one should be able to break me apart! No one!"

His own power began to rise as well. He was infuriated, much like I was, but it wasn't about what had been happening. He was upset that he was beginning to lose. He slammed on the ground rapidly, sending wave after wave of Arcane Energy toward me in every direction so it'd be difficult to miss me. My aura protected me from the attack, mostly. I then dashed toward him again before slicing at his other arm. He was clearly on the defensive now as he was blocking my strikes much more efficiently than before. Each blow seemed to do less damage than before, as if he had the ability to increase his defense and make his skin more like a hard shell.

I jumped back as he fired ice at me with his hand, although it wasn't directly to me. It was under me, a possible trick in trying to get me to let my own guard down for an attack. As I tried to run at him again, he forced large trees to suddenly grow from the ground to block me in every direction as the sudden small forest surrounded him and seemed like it was an attempted tree wall. I shook my head and sliced at the trees before realizing he had done the same trick several times, creating a multilayered square shaped tree wall around his position. If I had to guess, it might have been meant for recovery time. I wouldn't let him have enough of that though.

I charged up my scythe again and swung it hard as it fired a large ball of purple energy. It acted similar to fire by incinerating multiple trees at once, but it didn't spread like normal fire would. I kept firing off these attacks until I made my way into the center and found an opening. Bortelli was standing right where I anticipated, seemingly waiting for me. My scythe was still glowing as I just used the same attack once I found him.

The blast hit him in the chest, causing him to grunt and stumble backward, but not do much of anything else. I grew suspicious of his current actions and fired another Nether Energy-imbued ball at him. He only repeated the same reaction. His left arm hadn't regenerated, though I didn't know if he could or not since the tree minions he created could. I took a few steps closer, being cautious. As soon as I did, a trap seemed to trigger as ice walls rose up from out of nowhere and completely surrounded me. I let out a disgruntled yell before slamming my scythe into it, only to find it not break. Not only that, but I had noticed an Arcane Energy outline around it. It was an Ice-Arcane Wall. He was able to combine his abilities and conjure up something that utilized both. I couldn't cut through Arcane, but I'd be able to cut through Ice or the Earth. I pulled on my scythe only to find it stuck within the ice as the Arcane was surrounding the tip of the blade, trying to keep it stuck in it for good.

"You're more trouble than you're worth, you know," Bortelli said.

It made me look around as it sounded like he was fairly close.

"Without that weapon, I'm sure you're helpless," he said. "Enjoy this trick then."

I heard a sudden buzzing noise from behind me once he stopped talking. I looked back, seeing Arcane Energy form out of nowhere and from the walls before it transformed into sharp spinning blades. They came at me quickly, though I still tugged at my scythe. When it wouldn't work - at least in time for me to not be slaughtered by the blades - I bolted for the opposite side of my cage. I couldn't run forever as it was fairly small and knowing that Bortelli influenced this magic, it was probably capable of adapting.

After running in a square about five times, I did think of something. I closed my eyes as I stopped in my tracks before linking to Bane again. I had noticed that we didn't need to communicate that much in battle as I could feel the aura around me strengthening before the blades struck it and seemed to dissipate with each strike. I tried my best to not grin a bit smugly, but I couldn't resist.

"Good thinking, Bane," I said. "There's still the problem with the scythe though."

"That's not much of a problem, honestly," Bane said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, you form the weapon at will," he said. "Just focus and reform it in your hand."

"He does have a point," Payne added. "I know your mind's on the battle and all, but you should really pay attention to that."

I'll admit that when Bane - and even Payne - pointed that out, I wanted to slap myself. I should have realized that by now, surely. I shook my head and held out my hand before concentrating on forming the scythe again. It took a bit of power, like it always did, but it did fully reform in a flash of light. I held onto it and carefully looked at my surroundings before hearing the familiar buzzing noise yet again. I turned back toward the noise and watched as the blades rapidly approached me. I jumped above them and landed just behind them. They seemed to sense this and immediately changed course for my new position. Swinging my scythe, I brought them down with ease as it launched a smaller, more isolated blast compared to the larger one meant to destroy a wall.

"That's that," I said. "Now to do something about this box I'm in..."

I turned my attention to the nearby wall and readied my scythe in front of my body with the blade pointed at it. I knew I had a limited amount f time before more Arcane Buzzers came from the walls, so I had to act fast. My ball of Nether Energy couldn't crack Arcane, but I had an idea of using more Light Energy over Nether. With all of my concentration, I slammed down my Scythe and emitted a powerful wave of energy. The ground shook a bit violently, as if an earthquake had occurred. There was soon audible cracking in the Ice-Arcane walls before it shattered very rapidly. I watched Bortelli's confident expression turn into another one of surprise. His arm hadn't regenerated, I noticed. I took advantage of the knowledge he couldn't regenerate and sped toward him at quite the speed. He prepared himself for blocking my frontal attack, but like him, I was anticipating that move. I moved to his right side and slid behind him before striking down at his remaining unharmed shoulder. The force behind my attack was just as great as the previous one was. He screamed out in pain as I sliced through and his remaining arm fell to the ground. The purple tainted blood spilled from him now as he was unable to keep it in. He stumbled forward before falling onto the ground and onto his back.

"So you are a threat," he said, though through gritted teeth as he did sound like he was in tremendous pain. "No one should be able to kill a Ryjy with only two fully empowered slices. Not even a Donjy."

I walked up to him with my scythe and looked down at him as I held it up.

"I guess I might not be a Donjy then, by that logic," I said. "Do me a favor and stay in Hell, Bortelli. You belong there." I then slammed my scythe into his chest, penetrating his heart to make sure he was gone for good.

"To... kill... a Ryjy... with such power," he managed to cough out as tainted blood poured from his mouth now. "No... wonder... she fears you."

It was only a few seconds later that life escaped from his body and all that was left was a pool of the liquid form of Nether Energy. I had won the battle and it made me grin slightly. However, the injuries I endured caught up with me. It felt like millions of needles suddenly stick themselves into every part of my body. I stumbled and then fell onto my knees, gasping and coughing. Regeneration wasn't that great if it meant feeling the pain regardless, if you ask me. My hands were in the miniature Nether Pool and I tried to pull them out. To my surprise, the pool began to glow and I felt the same way as I had when I arrived at the location. I let out a loud yell and fell forward into the pool now, feeling the Energy being absorbed into my body. It hurt, much like the needles from only a minute ago. I didn't know what was going on and I didn't really want to understand it. I just wanted it to stop.

When the pain did subside, I found myself staring at the trees and everything was in an eerie purple hue again. I stood back up and rubbed my eyes, swearing I saw my father carrying something. I couldn't tell if he was leaving or coming to the house. I could only make out a small box. My mother was in the far distance, as I could barely see her, and the faded background was that of Tonoko City Square. She had her hands on her chest, on top of one another, as if she was worried about my father. Was she following him back then? Did she worry about him? How did this tie in with them being murdered by that bomber?

I jumped back and froze in place when I thought I heard my mother's voice, clear as day.

"The Nether Axis," it said. "It's not a safe place. You have to wake up."

I looked around for the location of the voice as it sounded like it was morphing mid-sentence before I registered Tay's tone of voice.

"Wake up, Lane!" I heard it say in Tay's tone. "Come on, wake up!"

My eyes shot open and I quickly sat up, accidentally bumping Tay in the forehead.

"Ow!" she said, rubbing her forehead gently. "Well, at least you're awake."

"Huh?" I asked, rubbing my own forehead. "Oh, sorry, Tay. I didn't realize you were so close."

I looked around, noticing I had been carried into a building of some sort. I was lying on what felt like a couch, which did explain why I felt comfortable.

"Tay says she found ya out cold in the Marsh," Bernie said from the doorway into the room. "She dragged ya out here all be herself since she didn't tell Minnie or me where she was going."

"You found me?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound shocked, but I was confused on how she did locate me.

"Mmhm," she nodded. "I have a tracker in my Communicator, too, you know. I kind of had Toro reverse it before we went out and dealt our blow the Crimson Gavel. It came in handy since you were passed out and seemed like you didn't want to wake up for a while."

"How long was I out then?" I asked. "I remember killing Bortelli, but then feeling intense pain and then blacking out."

"Oh, so Bortelli's dead?" she asked. "That's good news for our group. That only leaves Vinchi left."

"Yeah, but how long was I out?" I asked, raising an eyebrow curiously at her since she seemed to ignore that question.

"Only a couple of hours, I think," she said.

"Not too long then," I said, shifting my body so I could stand up. I tried to stand, but groaned when trying to do so. I got as far as hovering in the air for a moment before being forced to sit back down by gravity.

"Just rest for now," she said, wrapping her arms around me into perhaps the warmest hug I had gotten in a while.

"Alright," I said, putting my own arms around her. "I'll rest a little longer then. Where are we anyway? I don't recognize this building."

"We're in a lone house I found here in the Marsh," she said. "The heat, water and electricity still work, so I figured why not? The door was unlocked and I found some evidence that Jagger may have stayed here, either plotting things or doing more experiments. I figured it might be worth checking out, especially if we can find some intel on Vinchi."

"Smart girl," I chuckle and gently kissed her nose. "I like that idea. If anything, he'll be the most powerful Don infused with Nether Energy. Jagger might have taken notes of his abilities or at least how he obtained them. You, Bernie and Minnie can look around for that since you want me to rest."

She smiled softly, though mostly to the kiss, before kissing me on the lips with a gentle nod. She then let go of me and stood up. I watched her walk out of the room with Bernie and sighed gently, closing my eyes. Something felt off still and I didn't know what. I opened my eyes again when Bortelli's words rang in my ears. No wonder she fears you. It also made my mind race, thinking Tay might have somehow been this woman that feared me for no reason. I hit my head somewhat hard and then shook it. Tay wouldn't be so sweet and so upset with me being hurt if she feared me. Right? I just let out a sigh and laid back down, trying to relax and recover.

I had fallen asleep for what felt like quite a while. When I awoke and looked at the clock across from the couch, it told me it had only been a couple of hours again. I slowly sat up and rubbed my head gently. I attempted to stand up and this time I was able to without a problem. I had to be mostly recovered by now if that was the case. I stretched out my arms before looking over at a nearby mirror. A light red color spread across my cheeks as I was shirtless and just in my jeans. I did have a bit of scarring, though that was the result of all the fights I had been in. I wasn't wearing my goggles either. I walked over to the mirror and took a look at myself, taking a mental note that I needed a haircut. My shaggy black hair had grown long enough to almost cover my eyes. I moved it back and shook my head gently. I told myself that I shouldn't worry about that right now. I didn't have time to give a damn about how I looked. At least not until Vinchi was dealt with and then Bernie, Tay, Minnie and I could all lay low and relax while I tried to figure out my plan against Baron Runo and his Cryptic Guard.

Thinking about that scenario made me slam my fist onto the counter in front of me. I felt like I couldn't do that even if I tried - powers or not. I was struggling with the Crimson Gavel and I had a full team going into it. Now I only have three people and if I lost them, it'd be a feeling I'd not soon forget. Something still felt off though. I refused to let my brain think Tay might be this mysterious woman that was afraid of me, but I didn't let knowing she found this house conveniently in the Marsh slip by. Did Bortelli purposely lead me near her? Why did Tay and the others wander out of Jaden to look for me? It's not like I wouldn't have woken up. Then again, I had a strange dream that was only interrupted by hearing Tay's voice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down so I stayed relaxed for now.

"Oh, you're up!" Tay's voice suddenly said from behind me.

I opened my eyes and looked back at her, emitting a soft chuckle.

"You seem surprised about that," I said.

"Well, it has only been a couple of hours," she said. "Glad to see you're recovering well though."

I nodded and watched her walk over to the couch. She had changed her outfit since I had last seen her, not counting right as I woke up. She was in a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt that was white but had red sleeves. Her long hair was still in a ponytail, swaying about behind her freely. She wore white and blue sneakers which seemed to have been modified somewhat to allow for easy traction, more than likely a leftover Toro adjustment.

"One thing I'd like to ask though," I said, crossing my arms over my bare chest as I looked up at her when she turned around. I didn't want her thinking I was gazing at her backside.

"And that would be?" she asked, sitting down on the couch.

"Where's my shirt?" I asked, leaning my back against the wall gently now.

"Oh, right," she said. "It was pretty dirty, so I pulled it off and attempted to clean it off since this house has appliances to do that. You know, a washing machine. I tried to do the same with your overcoat, but I figured it'd be better to let that dry on a clothesline."

"Sounds logical to me then," I said. "Found anything that might lead us into knowing more about Vinchi before confronting him?"

"I've found a couple of things," she said. "They seem pretty useful. That code you found on the back of that journal entry might be the code to a safe I found in the bedroom. There's also a second journal I found, though very few pages are written in it. You should take a look into both of them."

I nodded and moved away from the wall as I watched Tay point in the direction of the bedroom. Heading that way, I stretched my neck and cracked it slightly by moving in a circular motion before walking into the room. I did immediately catch the safe sitting under a wooden desk and the journal open above it. I guess Tay had been reading it. Pulling back the chair, I moved to sit down in it before looking at the journal first to see if I could get more information from the late Jagger. There seemed to be nothing but nonsense and written resentment for his father, who had sided with the Baron and became his top research scientist. There was nothing out of the ordinary until there were a few blank pages and then new journal entry.

"Year 33, Day 170," I read aloud despite being the only one in the room as it was a habit. "Mistress is furious at Vinchi. Our attempts at converting the Donjy are failing and she had ordered us to destroy said specimen, not convert it. Vinchi endured a harsh punishment for defying her approach and doing it differently. Now we must all slowly die as the Donjy comes after us. Vinchi states he has a secret up his sleeve. A secret he won't tell anyone but Bortelli. It's said to be something Mistress bestowed upon him in case we all fell. Well, I want to prove her wrong. She can't predict everything. I'll kill this man. Either by poison or by force, it doesn't matter to me. As they say, time waits for no one. Vinchi did tell me he had a hideout, near the Marsh. He said I could use it. Apparently he has another place he'll hold up. Somewhere near the Time Twisted Fields, just North of the Marsh. It's quite far from Tonoko or Jaden, so I don't know what he's planning. Side note though: Don't send more assistants to investigate the Time Twisted Fields. They never come back or I find their bones whenever I go to check."

I sat back as that was the last page that had any writing on it. I thought for a moment and then put my elbow on the desk and leaned on it.

"The Time Twisted Fields?" I asked. It sounded vaguely familiar. "I need to head back to Jaden and look at a map." I then looked down at the safe.

Leaning down, I pulled the page from my pocket - surprisingly it was still there and legible - and input the code on the back into the safe's lock. It opened with little problems and I found a small vial of liquid Nether Energy in it. I raised an eyebrow curiously as I picked it up slowly.

"Interesting," I said. "Why would he keep this? He was already a converted Ryjy. Do they need this stuff like a conventional drug?" I looked it over and then placed it back in the safe. "I'll get it later. I don't have a way of safely transporting it yet." I then pushed the chair back and stood up.

I turned to find Tay in the doorway, seemingly curious herself.

"That's Nether Energy?" she asked, looking at the vial. "I wouldn't have guessed it was a liquid."

"Naturally, no," I said. "It's more of a gas naturally, but there are large pools of them, according to a history book I had smuggled in when I was still at the Academy. Liquid is a major form though. It is how it gets from place to place in this world if the gas form can't get there faster."

"I see," she nodded. "Well, did you find anything useful?"

"Just mentioning of the Time Twisted Fields," I said.

"The one place in this country that's supposedly lost in time and still in bloom despite the Great War happening and the desert around it?" she asked.

"Yeah, that place," I said with a nod.

"I've read that it's dangerous to go in there unless you have special traits," she said, walking up to me. "Do you plan on walking in there?"

"The journal said near it, not in it," I said. "So no, I don't plan to. Not unless I have to, at least. I know how dangerous it is. Once in the Time Field, it chooses whether or not it will keep you or kill you. If you're incredibly lucky, you might be allowed to leave under certain requirements, mostly being Bodaren, I believe. There are more qualifications, but very few people know about them."

"That's interesting," she said. "Would you be one of those people?"

"No, I would not," I said. "Anyway... I need to get my shirt and overcoat, Tay. Where's the clothesline?"

She pointed me in the direction of it and I headed toward it since she said she'd grab my overcoat. I walked over to the clothesline, which was two rooms over from where we were, and grabbed my t-shirt. It was dry and did smell of a rather enjoyable scent as it did remind me of the smell of a bouquet of flowers. I slipped it on easily, since the wash hadn't shrunk it, and then headed back to the living room and waited for Tay to return with my overcoat. She did come back with it a few minutes later with a small smile on her face as she handed it to me. It just seemed like she was purely happy being around me. I put the overcoat on as we continued to talk.

"I want to tag along," she said. "I'm sure Bernie and Minnie do, too."

"I rather you guys sit here, safely in a house," I said before feeling Tay step closer to me and look up, as if directly into my eyes.

"I said I'm tagging along," she said. "I'm mandatory. Bernie and Minnie are optional. I'll ask them. If they want to stay back, then fine. I'm still tired of you not asking for help, Lane. You need it from time to time."

"Alright, fine," I said. "Go ask them then. I can't guarantee their or your safety though."

"Fine by me," she said, running off to go ask the tow lovebirds now.

I waited for her to return and she seemed to have a sour pouting face now, complete with the puppy dog lip look.

"Bernie said they'd stay and keep guard here," she said. "He can contact us via Communicator, but only when it's necessary."

"Alright," I nodded and found my goggles on the table. I put them on top of my head and let them slide down into position right above my ears.

"We'll come lookin' for ya if we don't hear from ya though," Bernie said leaning against the doorway behind Tay. "Like Tay said, we want to help, too. We've already been diggin' around for the Cryptic Guard situation. I can tell with that look in your eye ever since I met ya that you hated them. I'll help ya, bud, but Minnie and Tay gotta help, too. They're not just there to sit on the side lines."

"You have a fair point," I said. "Keep digging up what you can about the Cryptic Guard then, Bernie. Have Minnie help you, too, if she can."

"Will do, but Lane," he said, moving away from the wall. "The Crimson Gavel guy you're goin' after. He ain't small business like the other Dons. Hell, even Bortelli is somewhat small time compared to him. I asked around with some contacts I made in my gamblin' days. A few state he's quite a feared mobster. Plus he's got some sort of scheme goin' on here. Worshippin' somethin'."

"Worshipping 'her'," I said. "I know. I read some things about a mysterious woman that the Crimson Gavel follow like she's their savior. I told Tay a bit about it earlier. This mafia isn't a mafia at all. It was an elaborate cover for some sort of cult. Their goal was at first to try and basically brainwash me into it, but it didn't work when the criminal tendencies of my job and seeing Marci die ended up contributing to me deserting their cause like I had the Cryptic Guard's."

"So they're mainly after ya, which puts us all in danger since we know ya?" he asked.

"Simply put, yes," I nodded. "It's one of the reasons I keep insisting you guys stay back. I've already lost majority of the team. I don't want to lose Tay or you guys either."

"Well, quit worryin' about that," he said. "We all wanna help, regardless of what happens to us. Like I said, I'll track down some leads for the future attack ya plan to do, but right now, we kinda need to get rid of the only guy left still keepin' the Crimson Gavel alive."

"I know," I said, heading toward the front door.

"I am curious as to why though," he said as I reached for the doorknob.

"Why what?" I asked, looking back at him.

"Why he's after you so badly," he said. "Runo's not been after you this badly. You think it's 'cause he figures the Crimson Gavel would deal with you?"

"Maybe," I said. "He does have other important things on his mind, such as planning of invading the neighboring countries, no doubt."

"Invasion?" Tay asked. "That would be leadership suicide for him."

"It wouldn't," I said. "Not with what I've seen him do to new guards. His army just keeps growing and growing with newly brainwashed soldiers. A soldier they tried to make me become."

"I see," she nodded. "Well, I'm glad you didn't become that kind of soldier, Lane." She leaned on her tip toes and kissed me gently on the lips, catching me slightly off guard.

"Thanks," I said. "There's another reason why I have to stop Vinchi though. According to Jagger's notes, he's planning an invasion himself. I'm guessing they plan on drugging innocent Jaden residents and converting them into Rjyjy. They'd overthrow Roland and launch a massive attack on Tonoko, trying to turn more innocents into what would be considered demons. If we let them do that, then there'd be no country to save and when they take over Mortion, they'd go for Czech, Alcad and Hellvita just to name a few. Runo is still preparing. The Ryjy wouldn't need to repair."

"Ryjy?" Bernie asked. "I've heard the term somewhere before."

"Probably from me," Minnie said, making Bernie jump as she stood behind him. "I like history, Fluffikins. Don't be so surprised."

"Fluffikins?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as Tay couldn't help but giggle. I was trying to stifle a chuckle.

"S-Shut up!" he said to me and then looked at Minnie, completely flustered. "I told you not to call me that in front of Lane or Tay, babe."

"Oh, sorry, sugar bum," she said, then blinked when Bernie groaned in embarrassment and hid behind his hands.

"Sugar buns," I said, still trying not to let out a chuckle. "Those are some good pet names for you, Bernie."

"Hey!" he said. "That's none of your business!"

"Okay, moving on," Minnie said before kissing Bernie's cheek gently. "The Ryjy were one of the two most powerful races on Krater way back when the planet was young. They were considered evil though, given their association with loving Nether Energy and majority of their deities were corrupted in the eyes of our current people and the Donjy."

"Donjy?" he asked. "What the heck is that?"

"The Nobles of Krater," she said, smiling at him. "I need to teach you history at some point, you know. They were who we're taught were the good ones, though their society wasn't much different apart from having a guilty conscience. Think of it as angels and demons, Bernie. Donjy are the angels, Ryjy are the demons."

"Aren't there actual angels and demons though?" he asked.

"I have no idea," she said. "It's just the easiest way to describe them. I don't know too much about either, but I do remember that the conditions our world is in is due to the war they had a long, long time ago. Even before the Great War, which wasn't against any gods? According to the books I read, we just fought each other because we rose up against the Keeper, which was Magazor. She was left to protect the world when the Donjy and Ryjy were going extinct, but something happened, and she died, too."

"That's quite a bit of knowledge you have, Minnie," I said. "I'm impressed. It does sound like we read the same books."

Minnie smiled at me now and brought her hands together in a rapid clapping fashion, seeming to also bounce around in excitement.

"That still doesn't explain why these guys, who claim to be Ryjy, want to kill off Lane," he said.

"That's because I'm supposedly some form of Donjy," I said.

Minnie seemed to be the most shocked by that as Tay less shocked than her, but obviously was more shocked than Bernie.

"You have some sort of special power then!" Minnie said. "Is that why you nearly got killed, but never died? Your Donjy power saved you!"

"Well, yes," I said, then blinked when Minnie squealed and hopped around the room as if she had ingested an entire cup of sugar.

"That means we are the good guys!" she said. "The Donjy are basically, like I said, angels!"

"I don't know about that," I said. "From what I know, they're certainly more noble, but I don't think they'd be angels."

"Well, not exactly the normal angel type, but they helped normal people," she said, giving me a pouting look as she stopped bouncing around. "Though what do you mean by some form?"

"It's hard to explain," I said. "I'll try to actually make an attempt at doing that when we get rid of Vinchi. Come on, Tay. We need to get going." I then opened the door and headed outside after waving to Minnie and Bernie.

Tay followed closely behind me while waving at them as well. We got onto my Hooverbike and I felt her hug me from behind as tight as she could before feeling her chin rest on my right shoulder.

"Comfy?" I asked, letting out a small chuckle.

"Mmhm," she nodded. "Well, as comfy as one can be on a Hooverbike, that is."

I nodded and started the engine before taking off in the direction of the Time Twisted Fields.