Paula stepped off the bus at Dusty Dunes Desert. The normally scorching environment was pleasantly cool in the early morning, and the beautiful sunrise soothed Paula's nerves, which was not an easy feat considering the number of things going through her head at the moment. Paula turned away from the sun and increased her pace, breaking into a dash for Fourmoon. "Hold on, Poo..." she muttered.

A little while later, Paula had finally reached the bridge to Fourmoon. She looked around wildly, trying to find a logical place to look for Poo. "What did Vincent say before? Something about a ship?"

She turned her attention to the ocean, and climbed down to the shore. "I guess being a ghost has its advantages," she thought to herself, taking a step forward into the Moonsidian water. Instead of sinking, her shoe remained above the water, only causing a gentle ripple. She paused to catch her breath and enjoy the experience, and then took a deep breath. Seconds later, she was running on top of the water towards where she hoped would be a ship.

Risosha's hands came down hard on the railings. "How did that girl get so close already?" he growled, squeezing the metal and defacing it slightly.

Paula froze. She saw the hazy outline of a ship form in front of her, shrouded in fog. Something on it was glaring back at her, emanating a gentle but distinct red aura. "That's him," she gasped, stepping backwards. "Raltise!"

She shut her eyes tightly, then felt her body slide into the water. Concealed by the black liquid, she drifted to the opposite side of the ship, grasping a ladder as she surfaced. Trying to make as little noise as possible, she pulled herself up onto the deck. Risosha was still trying to find Paula at her original location, and hadn't noticed her arrival.

Examining her surroundings, Paula found the ship to be relatively empty, with the exception of a few boxes and tables. Before he ended his search for her, Paula hid herself behind a table. Her mind was racing as she heard footsteps approach her.

Risosha fell backwards onto his chair, thinking to himself next to the table. A few feet in front of him, Paula was shivering in terror. What could this villain do to her if he found her? Was there something worse than death? Next to her, Poo was leaning against the glass, losing hope. Progress was slow for the two groups, and soon it would be too late to do anything. He arbitrarily looked into Risosha's eyes, and was alarmed when he found them brimming with curiosity.

Following his view's path, Poo suddenly noticed Paula, curled up behind a box. He looked back at Raltise. He was slowly rising to his feet. "Paula! Run!" he yelled at the top of his tiny voice.

Risosha lunged at Paula's location, but Poo's warning had already led her away. Paula jumped out of the way and grabbed Poo's jar, making her way back towards the ladder.

"Stop!" Risosha roared, hurling a translucent red orb at the fleeing girl. His excellent aim knocked Paula off her feet.

"Poo!" Paula screamed as the bottle flew out of her hand. He was still yelling at her, demanding that she leave him behind. She reached for the jar, but Risosha had gotten in her way, and was now walking menacingly towards her.

Poo pulled himself up and examined his prison. Unfortunately, it was still intact. It would take more than gravity to break that jar. He turned to Paula and yelled one last plea. "Get out now, or you never will!"

"PSI Fire!" she shrieked desperately, pointing her fingers at Risosha. Once again, there was no result. In a last act, she hoisted herself over the ship's railing and fell overboard. Risosha tried to grab her, but was too slow; Paula had already landed on the water and was dashing away, praying that the ordeal was over.

Raltise's anger boiled over and the red aura about his person seemed to emanate furiously. It encompassed the sky in a blink, shattering the still twilight with the color of blood. With a roar, the ocean exploded. Pillars of water erupted from the stillness and pierced the oblivion, while Paula darted frantically between them. She crashed through the turbulent waves, the situation now shifting from saving Poo to saving herself from Raltise's wrath.

Raltise gripped the railing violently, the metal caving under his powerful grasp. He ripped it from the very deck in a rage and tossed it into the ocean, breathing heavily. Then he seemed to calm. He closed his eyes thoughtfully, and reached into his left pocket, sifting through it. A wry grin slowly crept across his face. He withdrew a small gold watch, one with a pair of eyes staring from its face and two twisted clock hands pointing to the 12 and 3 positions. He held it lightly in the palm of his left hand, placing his middle and forefinger on the small appendage on top of it. He depressed his fingers.

Once, twice, three times.

The pillars of water jutting into the ethereal sky paused in their chaotic ascent, and immediately a wave of silence crossed the desolate seas. Paula found herself frozen, free to think yet unable to move. She struggled, yet not a muscle in her body would respond to the signals her brain was sending them. Time had stopped dead. A gruesome laugh escaped Raltise's throat. He glided silently across the now still waters, the boat behind him frozen in its gentle bobbing. He circled around Paula's inanimate form, gazing into her still-seeing eyes with his own crimson ones.

"Perhaps you were not aware of the Dali's Stopwatch? Yes, well, it is quite an old trick...mm hmm...a shame that you do not study your enemy before making your move. However, I have studied you most carefully, Ms. Polestar...and no amount of praying will save you this time." He split a sickening grin. He spun around, whirling in the air freely. "But how silly of me! You cannot pray if you cannot fold your hands! What a pity! Yes, yes...quite the pity."

He turned around once again. In his hand now rested a small brown bottle, his hand covering the label, although the words Schmitt's and Beer could be seen. "Perhaps...you should follow the same path as your Dalaamese companion. Au revoire!" With a wave of his hand, a swirling purple vortex appeared above Paula's still frame, and within a split second engulfed her, removing her from existence. Raltise gazed into the beer bottle in his left hand, grinning wildly as the bewildered ghost of Paula grew accustomed to her new surroundings within.

----

"This is the way to Lumine Hall, noble adventurers." The small green Tenda stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "I do not know what you seek here, but I pray it will put a stop to the evil which has taken our world hostage." Siris nodded to the withered chief, and followed Harsemhin who had already begun descending the rope ladder into the subterranean lair. The rest followed suit.

The cave was pitch black, the sound of trickling water permeating the air. It fell perpetually here -- the swamp of Deep Darkness where Lumine Hall was located seeped in through the high ceilings, creating a damp atmosphere. Mold and lichen clung to the walls, glowing faintly in the lack of light. Talus leaned against a nearby black formation that jutted out of the stone floor, resting his back against it. "Well, where do you suppose it is?"

"Good evening. I'm a talking rock." A cheerful voice greeted them from the darkness, directly behind Talus. "And I'd appreciate it if you would get off me." Talus backed up quite suddenly, astonished. Chione snickered. Penetella glared warily at the conversational stone.

"What's this jibba-jabba about, foo? I ain't heard a' no talking rock and I ain't goin' in no cave with some crazy foo' Murdock." He glared into the chiseled face of the rock. Rustopher pushed him aside.

"Do excuse him, my good...stalagmite. He does not know any better. I can see quite clearly from your manner of address that you are a well-learnéd stone. I am Rustopher Bonham, an author of some renown and quite the conversationalist myself! Perhaps while these droll individuals carry out their petty tasks, we may engage in an intellectual discussion or two! What say you, good sir?" The rock remained silent, staring wearily from its unchanging face. Siris kicked Rustopher out of the way, and the man went tumbling into a wall. He rubbed his head irritably. Siris leaned down to look at the rock.

"Do you know anything about the Path of Light?" He inquired. The rock seemed to mull over something momentarily.

"Why, I've heard of the prophecy just like all good people have. But I am not the most knowledgeable of rocks. The rock down in the Lost Underworld talks the most. He would be able to help you. But...you can check Lumine Hall itself, and see if your minds betray the answer." He went silent again. Siris nodded to Talus in the darkness.

"Alright, let's go." Penetella hoisted Rustopher up by the back of his collar and followed the other six group members through the cave into the darkness of Lumine Hall. The caves were thick with blackness, the only light coming from the dull glow of lichen on the rock walls. Talus whispered faintly to the others behind him.

"Say, do you think we'll find it in all this? I mean, it's so dark in here...I can't even see the nose on my face, wow. Do you think we should just look for a light, and follow it? Haha, a path of light! That's pretty funny. ....guys?" Talus stopped dead and turned around, nearly bumping into Siris in the process. The two fell to the ground, then quickly bolted upright and looked about. The others had disappeared. Siris frowned.

"Where did everyone go?" Talus shook his head, looking about him, squinting into the perpetual dark.

"I don't know..." He took a step forward, glancing about. Then he smacked his forehead. "Oh, just great...there are multiple paths...I'll bet everyone took separate ones. Pure genius." He muttered.

----

"Say, where do you suppose everyone went?" Chione looked at Matt curiously. Matt shrugged his shoulders.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. Must've gotten lost. Anyway, we should probably keep going. Might meet up with them later." He continued trudging down the dark tunnel. Some pebbles and debris scuttled some feet behind him in the tunnel, disturbed by a presence, but the sound was too far and too faint.

----

Penetella, still with Rustopher slung across his shoulder, meandered down an adjoining tunnel. "Now wait a minute you ruffian!" Rustopher bellowed. "I demand to be put down this instant!" In response, Penetella dropped him from his shoulder and the grown man hit the ground with a clatter. He bolted upright immediately and glared at the man indignantly. Penetella shrugged his shoulders.

"I ain't got time for no crazy foo' adventures, chump. So why don't you make your fool self useful and cut the jibba jabba!?" Rustopher shrank back in surprise.

"Very well, you uncouth individual." He brushed his dirtied suit and took a look around. "My word, where do you suppose everyone has gone?"

"How should I know, foo!? They's probably after that crazy foo Murdock path of light. Crazy I tell you." The two walked on. Some distance behind them, a shadowy figure partially obscured a patch of glowing lichen, then moved by.

----

Harsemhin looked about himself curiously while Kapeka flitted by him, eyeing him suspiciously. "Well, what is it? Is it that Ral person nearby?" She inquired. Harsemhin shook his head.

"No, not that...something similar. I can sense a presence nearby...this is no good. Without the others we could be in big trouble." Kapeka landed on his shoulder, her head darting about.

"Well, where is it? Where is this presence?" Harsemhin closed his eyes in concentration.

"It's right over...there!" He turned around just as an unknown assailant darted toward them.

----

"It's a trap!" Siris shouted at the top of his lungs, diving out of the way as an attacker plummeted through the air, retreating into the darkness again. Talus went into a roll upon hitting the ground, coming up on his feet again. He turned to face the black void. Two crimson eyes peered out of it menacingly.

"Ah sh...crap! Siris, let's go!" The two bolted to their feet and ran headlong down the tunnel, as a hideous laughter broke the silent trickling of water. They darted blindly down the passageway, tripping over rocks as the puppet floated after them, unhindered by the need to use its own two feet. A sharp turn in the cavern appeared before them, and the two young men cut to the left. They came to a clearing. In the darkness, they crashed head-first into Chione and Matt. The four tumbled to the ground.

Talus' eyes were flinched closed from the impact. He opened them slowly to see Chione below him, glaring angrily at him and blushing hotly. "Eh!?" He managed to utter before he scrambled away, fearing for the safety of his groin. The four stood up, brushing themselves off, and as they did so the remaining travelers darted out of two adjoining tunnels. They were all before the entrance to the Lumine Hall. A sickening laughter echoed through the cavern, coming from four directions.

Lier X. Agerate, Everdred, Mr. Carpainter, and Geldegarde Monotoli floated noiselessly out of the surrounding tunnels. They surrounded the group of eight in a circle, grinning wildly, their bloodred eyes focussed on the kill. Each one charged his hands with a volatile dark aura.

Chione unsheathed her sword, gripping it in both hands. Penetella began removing his socks. Harsemhin closed his eyes, readying himself. Kapeka charged a fire attack on the end of her staff. Matt began summoning the power of PSI into his hands. Siris wordlessly began invoking arcane magic. Rustopher clenched his fists and tried to form a threatening face, glaring hatefully at Everdred. Talus spread his feet, taking on an offensive martial arts stance. He turned his head and spit off to the side.

"Looks like we're in for some fun." He said, cracking a sly grin.

-----

While Jack Flash walked further away along the shore, Kageru and Bruiser stared at the broken bridge.

"If we can't use the bridge, it'll take us a lot longer to get out of the valley," asked Ness through Vincent.

"What choice do we have? We need to get our bodies switched back or we'll never stand a chance against Raltise. We go around," said Chartreuse.

The group started following the shore before Kageru spoke up from where he stood.

"We could always do it the easy way, you know."

The others stopped.

"There's an easier way to go around than walking?" asked Dan.

"We just cross here," stated Kageru, flatly.

"But Jack Flash just took out the bridge, remember?" questioned Christine.

"So?" asked Kageru. He held up a card.

"You want to play cards now?" asked Skulryk.

Kageru sighed. "Are you coming or not?"

Bruiser stayed near Kageru, the others shrugged and walked up to him.

"OK," said Chartreuse, " Now what?"

"Cado Surash! Jyanpa Bodo!"**

The group winked out of existence suddenly, and re-appeared precisely 1000 steps directly ahead of where they were before.

"What just happened?" asked Skulryk as Kageru drew his sword.

"Hey Kageru, there's nothing here," reminded Bruiser. A moment later, four UFOs appeared out of nowhere. A high class UFO, a Beautiful UFO, a Cute Lil' UFO, and a Lil' UFO.

"Oh, I knew they were coming," explained Kageru.

"You knew we'd get in a fight?"

"Oh, come on. This isn't much," countered Kageru.

"Uh, maybe we should argue later ... here they come!" exclaimed Lucky as the UFOs approached.

**"Jumper Board"

-----

Siris was the first to strike. As arcane incantations left his mouth his hands glowed with crimson light. A small ball of flame erupted from his palm, striking Monotoli directly. The assailant staggered from the force of the attack, but was otherwise unhurt. Siris quickly followed with a second ball of fire, then a third, but was met with similar results. Still he continued, as it was the only way to keep his distance. Kapeka joined in the assist with a ball of fire of her own.

Chione and Penetella dove straight for Carpainter. They summoned up all their strength for a head-on assault. The ex-cultists moved with blinding speed, parrying the blows as they came. Penetella cursed to himself as he saw that none of his punches were landing.

"This foo is crazier then Murdoc. But when I'm through wit him he's going to be chopped liva’."

Utilizing his ultimate technique, Penetella hurled his socks at Carpainter. To his horror they bounced off harmlessly.

Rustopher circled around Everdred, hatred in his eyes. He held his arms in an amateurish boxing manner. Glaring and scoffing, he wove around the corridor. No real intention of attacking was on his mind, rather he was trying to give himself the 'psychological upper-hand'. Noticing Rustopher's lack of real offensive motion, Harshemin launched an assault at Everdred.

"Sagitta Halt!"

The corrupted man hung in mid-air, suspended in time. However, before Harsemhin could even breathe a sigh of relief he reanimated and threw a punch at the stellar user.

Dodging a rolling kick, Matt launched a psychic attack at Lier. A wave of rainbow energy flowed from his fingers, signature of a PSI Paralysis. The puppet shook it off without being dazed for a second. Realizing it had no effect, he unsheathed his sword.

"Iron Fang!"

The fighter's form blurred for a second as he struck his opponent. The blade bit deeply, causing Lier to cringe. Yet, he merely shrugged it off and continued his assault. This left Matt dumbfounded.

"Um...these guys aren't going down."

Talus, who had joined in with Chione and Penetella, backed off for a moment. A dark expression cast over his face as he pieced together what was happening.

"As Raltise's power grows, so does theirs. His aura still remains joined with them, even at this distance."

Talus ran to the end of the tunnel and addressed the group. "Fighting is futile. We must retreat for now!"

"You don't have to tell me twice." muttered an exhausted Siris. The constant spell-casting had worn him out.

The group dodged away from their respective battles (a daunting task, but one made easier by the surrounding darkness). Following Talus' lead, they retreated down the tunnels. Their footsteps echoed throughout the subterranean maze. Navigating through the blackness was disorienting; they couldn't tell where they were going or where they had come from. And the silent floating of their pursuers did not allow them to deduce which direction they were being followed from. Sadly, it all seemed futile in the end. After taking a wrong turn they ended up cornered in a dead-end.

"There is no escape." growled Lier, hands glowing with energy. He slowly moved in to strike.

"This is bad..." murmured Kapeka, stating the obvious. She moved into a fighting stance again, along with the others.

CRACK!!!

The sound echoed throughout the cavern. Eyes darted to see where it was coming from. No source could be seen until Rustopher peered down at his feet. The hard rock beneath them was buckling under their combined wait.

"Egads!" he exclaimed nervously. "Everyone move ou-"

CRASH!!!

The warning was too late. The ground broke wide open and formed a gaping hole. With the floor completely crumbled away, the group plummeted through the opening into the lost underworld.

Chione stared downwards at the ground below, then up at the four floating puppets hanging around the opening. "Oh, this just keeps getting better..."

Luckily for them, Siris would be able to manage a group flight spell before they hit the ground....

Siris cursed loudly. "Harsemhin, help me."

Harsemhin didn't need to be told twice; with Siris's help he created a blanket which slowed the fall of the heroes. They touched the ground lightly, and looked up.

"We still can't avoid a fight," Talus said grimly.

No sooner had the words escaped Talus's mouth than the party was bombarded by their opponents' again-charged energy orbs. These, however, were poorly aimed, and only two succeeded in causing any sort of damage; Harsemhin sustained a minor blow to the shoulder, and Siris was the victim of a nearly-direct hit to the chest. As Siris and Harsemhin spent a few seconds getting their wounds under control, the rest of the group proceeded with the fight with the now-grounded puppets.

Matt let loose a PK skill he had been charging: a quick casting of PK Offense Up which he hoped would better the group's chances. At the same time, Kapeka unleashed a blast of fire, which had the distinction of not being quite as pathetic as Siris had expected. Chione, having neatly sidestepped a blast of energy aimed at her, raised her sword and charged at Mr. Monotoli head on. She was quickly joined by Talus, who began to engage Monotoli from his side. Rustopher wasted no time, either, rushing in to go toe-to-toe with Mr. Everdred. Mr. Carpainter was confronted by Penetella Giovanni, who brandished his socks violently.

After a few vital seconds, Siris smirked and nodded at Harsemhin. His clenched fists began to shine with a bright green glow; he could fist-fight as well as anyone, if he did say so himself. He confronted Lier X. Agerate and dealt what might have been a crushing chop to his neck; however, it stunned Mr. Agerate for only a second, after which Siris found himself on the ground with a dull pain at the side of his head. As Siris rolled to relative safety, Harsemhin used an attack of his own on Mr. Agerate.

"Scorpius Blade!" Harsemhin shouted, bringing forth a sharp blade of energy which inflicted an agreeable amount of damage to Lier X. Agerate.

Presently Chione was having difficulty with Mr. Monotoli; every time she brought her blade down in such a way that Monotoli's body might be significantly damaged, he managed to duck or sidestep, rendering the attack useless. Talus attempted to assist her by drawing Monotoli's attention away, but the old man wasn't stupid and knew that the greater threat lay in the eight-foot sword rather than the white-haired boy's comparatively weaker appendages.

Matt and Rustopher were concentrating on Everdred, who was making use of not only his fists and feet but also a set of sharp teeth which Rustopher found to be rather painful when applied with force to his forearm. As Rustopher was thrown down, Matt took his place and delivered a blow to Everdred's stomach. The thief promptly countered with a strong kick to the stomach, sending Matt reeling. Matt peered through angry eyes at his aggressor, and began to growl. His transformation to his werewolf form began and ended rather quickly, and he suddenly became a stronger force than he had been previously. He engaged his opponent in melee combat once again.

Kapeka worked with Penetella Giovanni to fight Mr. Carpainter. The duel of the odd weapons was on; Penetella's dirty socks versus Carpainter's deadly paintbrush.

Meanwhile, Siris and Harsemhin found that their movements were becoming more and more synchronized. It was a phenomenon they had encountered before; neither of them attempt to disrupt it. Their attacks would land at the same moment, their energy skills took effect in perfect synchronization. Soon enough, they both felt an adrenaline rush that they recognized quite well; the next spell unleashed would be a combination attack that relied on both participants.

"Aurora Blast!" Harsemhin and Siris shouted this in unison, neither knowing quite what words their lips would form or quite what effect their newly-created attack would have. A brilliant ray of multicolored light came forth from their outstretched arms, proceeding quickly toward its target. Lier X. Agerate was struck head-on and knocked backwards substantially. However, he still managed to stand up after this assault. Talus gritted his teeth. "This isn't working. We need the sanctuary if we're going to stand a chance."

"I have an idea!" Rustopher exclaimed, to the surprise of the others. "Do you feel the rumblings? We're in the Lost Underworld; the earthquakes signify that the randomly placed geysers are about to spew. Perhaps if we ride the tower of water, and perhaps with a bit of help from those of us who are magically-inclined, we may be able to reach Lumine Hall."

"Do it," Talus commanded. "No time for questions." It was fortunate that a geyser existed directly beneath the exit of Lumine Hall. The group gathered on it, wary of the puppets who were beginning to laugh at this concept. Matt, who had reverted to his human form, glanced at Harsemhin and Siris. Together they felt that it might be possible to propel them all upwards high enough to reach the Sanctuary.

The geyser did what geysers do. Those who had the ability concentrated on lifting the group upward further than the geyser actually could. Several closed their eyes.

Upon opening their eyes, they found that they were safely (yet a bit moist) inside Lumine Hall, which seemed to have repaired its own damage by some unknown force. The group looked down the hole which led to the Lost Underworld, and were greeted by the faces of the four puppets rising to meet them.

"We'll be prepared for them if we have the power of the Lumine Hall on our side," said Talus confidently.

With a shudder, a blast of dark energy ripped through the floor of Lumine Hall, widening the hole they had all traveled through. Four bodies darted blindingly through the air from below and came to a halt mid-flight. The four puppets circled in, advancing on the group of hapless adventurers. They continued to retreat, on Talus' urging, and they progressed further into the hall.

Lier laughed wildly. "There is no escape for you now. The Apple of Enlightenment could never have predicted this. The pitiful heroes will now fall to the mighty hand of the Puppetmaster!" He closed in. The remaining three followed.

Siris looked nervously behind him at Talus. "So, now what?" Talus grinned smugly.

"Just watch."

The four puppets began to charge themselves with dark energy, the black glow emanating from the palms of their hands. An unearthly, evil hum pierced the silence of the cavernous hall. The energy continued to expand. Four bursts of energy merged to one, creating a massive ball of negative aura. The wail grew in pitch until it seemed capable of shattering eardrums. Then they released it.

The evil energy was dispelled.

Lier glided back, bewildered at what had just taken place. The others did the same, clearly unprepared for this eventuality. A low, soothing hum pervaded Lumine Hall at that moment, followed by a steady white glow. A strange, lilting melody wafted through the air. Monotoli doubled over in pain. Carpainter shook his head violently. Everdred's muscles went tense, and he clutched at his throat. Lier X. Agerate gave out a deathly-sounding shrill scream. Then light engulfed them.

The four puppets dangled helplessly in the air. The white pallor of their skin faded away to reveal a more natural fleshtone. The crimson of their eyes vanished. At that moment all four bodies went into spasms of pain, jerking unnaturally in flight. The flesh began dripping off their bodies, their eye sockets drooping, clothing falling off. It fell in a mass on the floor. Muscle tissue seemed to burst suddenly, creating loud popping sounds that reverberated through the cavern. Bones broke off, shattered, and dropped to the ground. Vital organs burst in brilliant displays of color and juices. It all came into one heap on the floor. Then, it decayed into a large pile of ash.

Siris stepped forward, making his way across the sanctuary to the pile. He knelt down and hesitantly fingered the pile. Some of the ash residue came off on his hand, and he rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. He turned his head to look at Talus, who was also striding toward the mass. His face was one of utter perplexity. "...What just happened here?"

Talus stared at the pile, unmoved. His face was set in a stoic mask. He knelt down beside Siris. "Simple. The power of the Sanctuaries heal everything. Raltise's power was strong, but not strong enough to sustain an attack by the goodness and warmth of the sanctuary. I was taking a bit of a gambit, actually...if Raltise was even a little bit stronger I don't know if the sanctuary would have done anything to them. But it did. It healed them."

Siris frowned, staring incredulously at the pile of ash. "That doesn't look like 'healed' to me!" Talus laughed loudly.

"Well, it did heal them...so to speak. But you remember that when we first fought them, we killed them. They've really just been animated corpses for all this time. Sooooo when they got healed, they became susceptible to the laws of mortality again. So they died." Talus squinted uneasily, flashing a weak grin and scratching the back of his head.

----

Raltise stood stoically within his cabin. His face was one of utter shock. The strings had been severed, his pieces captured. The puppets were gone. Yet he merely stood there, wordless, motionless, for about the expanse of a half a minute. Then he erupted with rage. He overturned the chair, shattering it in an instant, and then went to work on the walls, energy reducing the wooden structures to rubble. He ripped a portrait frame off the wall and glared disgustedly at the picture of a lizard-skinned ship captain dressed in ancient pirate garb. Raltise eyed the tiny bronze plaque at the bottom of the portrait. It had been worn with time, but he could barely make out a curving golden script which said K Rool. He stared intently at the figure in the portrait, recognizing the historic persona.

"Oh Kaptain K. Rool, you were truly a king among kings! Yes, you were quite the cunning villain! But sadly, so sadly, you were defeated by some zoo monkeys! The world lost an irreplaceable seafaring man that day, and the world of super-villany forever had a void at its core! Yes, yes...tell me o' Kaptain, what should I do to these fools? My puppets, they are gone and gone eternally to the great void! Shall I make these troublesome adventurers walk the plank, as you oft had heroes do? Why yes, this is a viable solution and -- what are you grinning at!? Yes, yes, you think I am amusing! I will show you up! Have at you!" He rammed his white-knuckled fist in a rage through the center of the oil canvas, square through the figure's bulbous bugged-out, bloodshot eye. He began to pace the length of the cabin frantically.

"Mmm hmmm...yes...well, my tactics have failed. The wise player acknowledges his mistakes. Yet what shall I do? The chess pieces have fallen...so now the chessmaster steps in." He grinned twistedly, whirled his forefinger in the air, and with a purple flash of light, winked out of existence.

----

"So what do we do now? We're here, aren't we?" Matt looked about himself at the glistening walls of Lumine Hall, as if waiting for something to happen. Harsemhin let his hand pass over the glowing stones jutting from one wall.

"Perhaps we just...wait? I would not know where to begin." Siris and Talus strode toward the glowing wall as well, staring up at it. Chione approached it as well. All was silent, save for the low, peaceful hum of the sanctuary and the far-off melody. Then in a flash of brilliance, words began scrolling across the wall. Their own thoughts. It said one thing, over and over;

Search the place where heaven and earth meet...

Talus sighed. "This is not the path of light. We've come to the wrong place."

"Yes, that you have, my poor deluded marionettes! And it will be the very last place you ever see!" Eight bodies whirled about as a sordid strain of laughter echoed through the cavern. Before them stood the very essence of their nightmares. Raltise stood with his arms folded, smiling cruelly. "You destroyed my puppets, yet they were only an extension of my power, not the whole. They could not finish the job, so I will have to. Yes...any last words, before I banish you to the void?"

"Yeah. Give me back my father." Talus rushed forward, launching himself in Raltise's direction. He attacked the Puppetmaster head-on, unleashing a flurry of jabs at him. Raltise backed away, easily avoiding each punch, and those that would regularly hit seemed to only graze empty air. Talus backed up, then assaulted him once again, this time jumping into the air and launching a high kick straight at Raltise's face. The unearthly one merely ducked this, and Talus landed squarely on one foot, pivoting and unleashing a roundhouse kick. Then he hung midair. Raltise had his ankle. His unbalanced weight began falling toward Raltise, who rammed his free hand into Talus' stomach, palm open, letting go of his ankle at the same moment. Talus lurched from the impact, and went careening back like a missile into the throng of adventurers. Siris and Chione caught him as he rebounded. The young man was beside himself with pain.

Raltise sighed. "Mmm hmm...you may try if you like, if it suits your egos, but I have pressing schedule to attend to." He glanced distractedly at a stopwatch that had appeared in his left hand. His serious face quickly flashed a wicked smile, and he clicked the stopwatch three times. The Dali's Stopwatch performed its intended function. The malevolent master grinned in a satisfied manner and strode forward. He eyed Harsemhin in particular.

"Well, well! We meet again, magician! Yes...I would imagine that you do not find it too comfortable to be in such a position for a second time. Yes, well...there will be no Null Gate to save you this time. The Apple would not dare to interfere. Yes...but what to do with you?" He paced before the frozen individuals, and then he eyed Talus. He gripped him by the chin, staring into his eyes.

"Such fire within those brown orbs...yes...you would like to see me die, is this true? You would wish me with all your might to the very oblivion which we all must meet? A pity that all the prayers in this pathetic world cannot save you now. Quite." He let go, turning sharply. He raised one arm in the air, waving his forefinger as if reprimanding a child.

"Now, now, my dear marionettes! We are going to play a new hand! I will send you off to a realm of my own creation, one where you can play games...eternally. Yes, yes...you shall find my Gameworld to be...most entertaining. I shall be watching with amusement." He began pacing up and down the cavern. "Yes, yes...but what is at stake in this game? Why, your very lives! There may be a way out, there may not be, but you will never know if you are dead! So do try to stay alive; I so desperately need some diversion in these troubling times."

Raltise turned to the inanimate group once more, all eyes fixed on him in horror, horror-stricken mouths attempting to speak yet without success. The Puppetmaster waved goodbye. "Good luck!" He bellowed. His line of sight followed upward, where a large swirling purple vortex had appeared from nothingness. Then, in an instant, it plummeted to Earth, swallowing the eight hapless heroes into nonexistence. Raltise turned to the wall of Lumine Hall once they had gone. The words scrolled across the screen at an incredible rate, becoming jumbled with others, accelerating to the point where it was a mere blur of light on the glowing stone.

Raltise smiled, squinting into the brightness. "All the world's a game."