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Dameon scribbled the odd markings into the dirt of Bezimen's front yard with a long blade. They were old symbols, clearly, with seemingly nonsensical curves and dots here and there which made them look like gibberish. The group stood around (save for Bezimen, who was busy in his workshop) and watched interestedly, obviously intrigued with Dameon's ancient knowledge.

With a few more energetic stabs into the ground, Dameon finally stood up and turned to face his audience.

"All done!" he said and bowed. Everyone was speechless.

"Well?" Cyllea asked. "What do we do now?"

"Right," Dameon said with a snap. "Now everyone, stand exactly where I tell you to, understand?"

Everyone nodded and Dameon began setting people up like chess pieces. He placed each person in front of a symbol and when everyone was around the circle he clapped his claws together and walked in front of the only free symbol, the most ornate symbol out of all of them.

"Just stand there," Dameon said. "Whatever you do, don't move when I start talking."

Everyone nodded and straightened themselves. Dameon's pupils slipped into his skull and he gritted his jaw and then relaxed it again.

He began muttering under his breath, silently mouthing his spell. The group could barely hear him, but they could tell that whatever he was saying was not English.

Holi looked down and her eyes widened when the symbols began glowing slightly...

In the old Behaku palace, Grimlock had taken a fancy to Dameon's old throne. He sat atop it with regality, pretending that it was he who commanded thousands and ruled with an iron fist, destroying all who opposed him with limitless power...

"Soon," he thought to himself. "Soon."

"My lord," Oxide materialized next to the ornate chair. "We have readied the materials necessary."

"Wonderful," Grimlock smiled devilishly as he watched Seros lug a massive cluster of machinery through the throneroom and down the corridor, the Carnian artwork scrawled on his chest glowing bright red as he worked.

"What a magnificent creature," he pondered out loud. "Truly the closest thing I have to a friend."

Oxide shifted on his feet uncomfortably. Grimlock looked over to him.

"Certainly there are *ahem* others who deserve notoriety, my Lord?" he hinted. Grimlock chuckled.

"I jest dear Oxide, I jest," he said with a smile. "What form of leader would I make by ignoring loyalty?"

"A bad one, Lord," Oxide chuckled as well. Grimlock's eyes suddenly shot open!

He coughed and gurgled, then fell over onto the floor from his throne. Oxide rushed to his side.

"My Lord, what is it?" he asked.

"Summoning," Grimlock choked. "Summoning Call..."

"Can we track it?" Oxide asked.

"No need...I already know," he said painfully, then imploded into himself and was gone! Oxide looked around for a moment before muttering angrily.

"You two!" he called to two Carnian soldiers loitering against a wall. They immediately knelt and glanced at him.

"Lord Oxide?" one of them asked.

"Bring Seros to the throneroom and tell the Sisters to prepare a teleportation spell!" Oxide commanded. The two Carnians nodded once and sprinted to do his bidding. Oxide paced around the throne.

"Trying to capture him are they? Well, we'll see..." he muttered as he heard Seros' deep footsteps resonate through the halls. If he had facial features, they would be contorted into a corrupt grin...

Grimlock re-imploded at the scene where we last left Eveser and the group, standing around the large circle of symbols.

He looked around when the teleportation had finished and smiled as he stood.

"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" he smirked. The group smiled back at him, making him raise an eyebrow in wonder.

"There's a reason why you're all smiling at me...and whatever it is I highly doubt that it's in any way beneficial," he said curiously.

"Well, now that we have your full attention," Eve began. "We were just wondering if we could just...talk."

Holi clicked the record button on the recording device she had hidden in her pocket. Grimlock didn't even notice!

"Talk?" he repeated. "This is some kind of trick, I'm sure...but my lack of judgment and insatiable curiosity compels me to press on...why?"

"We want to see if we can reach a non-violent end to this conflict that has arisen," Eve said, completely telling the truth. If there could be an agreement reached through words then he would absolutely pry for it! Either way, with the recording or with peace, he would win this confrontation.

"Then kill him," the lizard responded, pointing to Dameon with a grin. "And hand me the keys to the entire world."

"Why Dameon?" Holi asked. "Why not the rest of us?"

"Well, all of you eventually, but for now just him," Grimlock laughed.

"Where's Teya?" Kane demanded. Grimlock smiled again, a toothy, evil smile.

"She's well taken care of. A mouthy little thing though, I've had to make her rethink her opinions on multiple occasions," Grimlock hinted darkly, brandishing his needles which had just slid from his fingertips. Kane snorted furiously.

"We can end this all right now, if we can reach an agreement. Then no one has to die," Cyllea interjected.

"You're in a bad position to bargain, my scaled beauty," Grimlock smiled at her. "I'm holding all the chips and you have only pleas and requests...what possible motivation could I have to simply relinquish my winnings at the moment?"

"We have you," Darrow said. Grimlock actually laughed at that.

"You have me? Certainly not," he said with a smile. "If anything I have you all. Together, in a circle, no defenses, no offenses, nothing...maybe I could just explode right now and none of you would have even seen it coming. Maybe I could just have you all dig your own graves and then lie in them as I bury each one of you alive..."

Grimlock laughed again, a biting, dark laugh. Darrow drew his gun.

"Or maybe I'll just shoot you right here," he said, his gun unwavering. Grimlock looked surprised!

"That you could," he grinned, the surprise giving way to cruel malice. "Or you could shoot yourself?"

Darrow's hand began shaking suddenly, a look of surprise and shock washing over his face as he realized with harrowing clarity that he was no longer in control of his actions...

"Stop!" Cyllea cried out.

"Can't," Grimlock said with a smile. "If he wasn't so strong it would be over already...my work is done, he's just fighting it..."

Darrow's face contorted in struggle, his muscles barely willing to obey him. Cyllea began to move towards him but Dameon's sharp command stopped her.

"No! Don't move!" he barked. "He's trapped in the circle, break it and he goes free!"

Grimlock smiled again and laughed as Darrow fell to his knees and tried to control himself.

"Please! Please stop!" Cyllea begged.

"Honestly I really can't!" Grimlock held up his hands in a "what can I do" gesture. Cyllea was panicked, she looked back and forth between Grimlock and Darrow despairingly trying to think of something to do. Eve was shifting on his feet, his face twisting with confusion. Of course he had to save Darrow, but how could he do it without breaking the circle?

Even Dameon could think of nothing to stop the impending doom that approached Darrow...

Then Cyllea broke the terrible silence...

"If you let him live, then you can take me!" she called. When Grimlock turned to face her this time, he was actually surprised.

"You're willing to potentially sacrifice your life for his?" he asked, pointing to Darrow. Darrow looked up, shocked.

"Cyllea don't!" he called as he struggled with his own hand.

"Yes," Cyllea answered, holding her head up proudly.

"Cyllea NO!" Eve shouted furiously. Cyllea looked at him, compassionately.

"To save a life, one must know its value," Cyllea said with a small smile. "I'll be fine; I've handled myself in worse situations. Just promise you won't let this creep have me for too long!"

Eve felt tears in the corners of his eyes as she spoke, but he forced himself to blink them away and then turned his burning attention to Grimlock, who smiled at him wickedly.

"If you even think that you'll get away with this..." Eve threatened, his eyes burning a brilliant golden orange. Grimlock's smile faded...

"There it is!" he thought to himself. "That aura again...golden around the edges but pitch black on the inside...what is this creature?"

"Step forward and he will live," Grimlock called to Cyllea. Cyllea nodded once and then cautiously stepped into the circle. The minute her paw crossed the symbol, there was a small blue flash that briefly outlined what looked like a cylinder surrounding Grimlock. The lizard laid his claw on Cyllea's shoulder, eliciting an angry snarl and a hiss from the dragoness.

"There, you have me. Now let him live," she growled.

"As promised," he said emotionlessly. He held his hand out to Darrow and the group could see the small hole in his palm. Darrow immediately stopped struggling and slumped forward slightly, exhausted from his ordeal. "I'm a man of my word."

"If you so much as breathe on her I SWEAR I'LL SLIT YOUR THROAT!" Eve cried angrily to the remorseless creature. Grimlock snarled back, unusual for his normally complacent attitude...

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, dragon," he flicked his barbed tongue at him menacingly. "Your female is in the best position one could be in at the moment...with me..."

Eveser snarled again and exhaled a gust of grey smoke from his nostrils.

Grimlock smiled. He was about to say something else when he stopped and perked up. His eyes turned up to the sky and he gazed around the area curiously.

"Ahhh, it seems your little call did more than just get my attention..." he said. There was a quiet sound like the bursting of a balloon and then a sound like metal being torn apart. The group became wary...

Then there was a loud thud.

"Move!" Darrow shouted as Seros' enormous fist hurtled towards them! They scattered as the clay beast slammed his fist down to the dirt where Eve once stood. Grimlock smiled.

"Seros!" the call turned the golem's attention to his master. "Gelao dorma kala! Extermina ilusus!"

The golem's attention turned back to the group, almost immediately leaping into the air to attack! He brought his two fists together while airborne and then slammed them down in the grass, making the earth shake.

Everyone but Eve was caught off guard...

He was angry...he had too much on his mind to even consider anything else...too much worry for his mate...

He felt himself in pain...his skin began to swell and tear. His horns became translucent and gave off an eerie red glow as his muscles stretched and engorged themselves on his rage, becoming large enough to match Seros himself!

Everyone looked on in awe. Especially Darrow and Dameon, who had seen this only once before...

Grimlock was speechless.

"Well...I'll admit, I really did not expect that," he said slowly.

"Neither did I," Cyllea said, awestruck. (Keep in mind that Cyllea was dead last time)

Seros stopped for a moment before rushing to attack again! Eve gave a furious war-cry and charged him, the two titans smashing into eachother hard enough to make everyone around them have to take a step back...

Seros slammed his fists into Eve's snout, the dragon taking both strikes and spitting a gout of blood onto the stone-skinned monster. Eve then raised his claws above his head and brought them crashing down onto the golem's back. Seros was knocked onto his stomach, but grabbed the dragon's leg as he went down. He leapt to his feet again and lifted the enormous reptile's foot out from under him, bringing him to the ground where he promptly lifted him into the air and smashed him into the ground behind him. He repeated this action three times; Eve was beginning to get annoyed...

He brought his other heavy foot up to bear and hoofed Seros in the chest, sending him back a few feet. Eve stood up again and this time ran full speed at the golem, using his wings to boost himself. He gripped Seros around the waist and hoisted him off his feet, standing straight up before bending down and leaping up into the sky!

The golem grabbed the dragon's paws that wrapped around him and squeezed until he was sure they would have been broken...but they weren't. Eve smiled a feral grin, his eyes burning with rage as his powerful wings carried him up past the clouds! When they passed the first cloud layer, Eve released his enemy and tossed him higher into the air! He fell for a moment before being met full-force by an enormous draconic fist!

The hit sent him higher into the air, spinning out of control! Eveser reveled in the battle, roaring like a monster as he charged the creature once again. Punches flew out of nowhere as Seros was struck again and again by his overpowering foe. He felt a powerful foot bash into his torso, a hit that sent him up into the air again.

Eve blew past him, his wings moving him at unimaginable speeds! They pushed him forwards with a purpose...

He was higher than Seros now, the golem rushing towards him at breakneck speed! As he raised his fist, everything seemed to go slower. His fist began glow with a smoky red light, as though he held in his paw a flaming object.

"Eveser Dimonis," the voice said again. Inside his head. "You are the vessel for the brightest light in the universe..."

"What are you?" he asked.

"Unleash your power..." it said quietly. "The soul of justice flows through you...Vessel of Bahamut, purge this evil...unleash your power!"

Eve didn't react, he felt...

He swung his fist down at the approaching Seros and opened his claw. There was a deep rumbling noise as the red light burst forth from his palm like a dam overflowing! The light hit Seros and stopped his ascent with pure force, freezing him in place for a moment as the red light engulfed him completely.

His markings lit up and then broke like chains from around his torso. His body began to dissolve into red dust, the light disintegrating him into nothing...

Seros made a noise, a final deep roar that was heard by no one but Eve as he completely vanished, exploding into powder and floating away on the wind!

Eve's mind was quelled. The voices stopped. There was utter silence as his rage vanished...

His muscles relaxed, his skin beginning to shrink back to its normal size. His horns regained their opacity and the red glow around him ceased.

He felt great! He felt like a god! But then he felt weak...

His world became fuzzy...

The rest of the group from down below saw only a giant burst of red light and then their dragon hurtling out of the sky like an asteroid! He wasn't moving at all...

Cyllea gasped and began to move, but was held in place by Grimlock's claw. She looked on in horror.

"Dameon! Darrow! Kane!" she cried. The three nodded and leapt into the sky, soaring underneath their falling brother in arms.

Grimlock scanned the skies for his golem.

"Where is he?" the lizard asked himself. Then it struck him...the dragon was alive! "That means that Seros is..."

He snarled for a moment before unleashing a growling roar.

"I'll make you pay for this, dragon," he hissed. Then he grabbed Cyllea by the back of her neck and imploded again, reversing the spell that brought him there. Cyllea vanished with him...